Chapter 1:
In the southeast part of the country, Capon, there was a small village, Haiku. Located near the sea. It was a village with around the 500 residents. Most of them are from the lower middle class to low class. Even though the villagers might not have the best living conditions, they all tried to help each other out. Which made the village like one big family.
In this village, there was a teenage girl who was radiant like the sun, popular and well known by everyone. One day, she was sitting in a big green field with yellow flowers, surrounded by little children who were playing together. Laughter filled the air. It was middle in the afternoon and all the children came from the village school. Every day after school, the children would come to the field to look for the one and only Inoue Orihime. "Orihime-nee!" one of the children yelled while playing, running to the girl with auburn colored hair. Big gray eyes meeting the little girl's stare, a gentle smile appearing on her face. "How can I help? I thought you guys were playing?" The girl nodded, ready to tell her story of events when a smaller boy around the age of four tugged on the hem of her dress, causing her to look down. "C-Can tell us a story?" Orihime shifted her focus from the older girl to the little boy, crouched down and ruffled his hair. "Of course I can! Do you mind Yui-chan?" She asked the girl, who now was also overly excited. "N-No! I do not!" the little girl jumped up, her cheeks red as she started to round up all the other kids. "Everyone! Orihime-nee is going to tell a story! Gather around." Orihime took the little boy on her lap, while all the other children of the village took a seat around the girl. "Once upon a time, there was a girl living in a big castle. She lived there with her father, who was the king of the kingdom. Her mother the queen and her lovely brother the prince. Once upon a day, the princess and her brother went to a massive garden." The children came closer, watching her in excitement. "Ah sugoi! Were there flowers and a fountain?" a boy asked?
"Yes there was." Said Orihime. "The princess and her brother went there to eat lunch in the garden, and they played all day long, but then her brother had to leave, and the princess was all by herself." "By herself? Wasn't she lonely?" another girl asked. Orihime nodded and said: "Yes, she was sorrowful, but little did she know that there was a magical boy in the garden." An O appeared on the faces of the children. This made Orihime laugh and resumed her story. "So the princess thought that she was all alone, but then she heard a soft sound. She looked around but saw nothing, but then she heard the sound again." "Again?" a high voice said. A boy around the age of six nodded and said: "Yes, that is what she said. Againnn." The boy said rather annoyed. "Yes again, but now she kept looking from where the sound came from, and then she saw something. She walked closer to a big bush and there it was. A boy around her age was standing there, smiling at her. He was clothed in all gold, and it was as if he was glowing. The princess was very fascinated by his appearance and looked curiously at the boy. She asked him; who are you? He simply answered with 'my name is James'. Because of his appearance, she did not dare to come close, but then she remembered the words of her mother. That no matter how someone looks, what matters is the heart. The princess reminded these words and smiled back at the boy and took his hand. It took so much courage to take his hands, but she was so glad she did because he was pleased when she did so. They started playing in the garden, and eventually, they decided to become the best of friends!"
Orihime just wanted to continue her story when suddenly a big scream could be heard, coming from the heart of the village. All the children looked towards the direction where the scream came from, becoming restless. Orihime looked up and saw smoke coming from the houses in the village. The children looked with fear at Orihime. "Orihime-nee, why is there so much smoke coming from that direction?" The little boy with dark hair and blue eyes asked. Orihime gave the boy a smile and said: "Everything will be alright. Just stay here and don't move! I'll be right back." Before leaving, she turned around to offer the children a reassuring smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. She didn't know what she could expect.
When nearing the heart of the village, Orihime walked past a group of older women and men that were in a hysterical state, yelling and running. "RUN, RUN!" Orihime managed to stop one of the older women, inquiring what happened. "The army of the Kuchiki came, and they are taking over our village! They already took the head of the village and killed all our young men!" The older woman burst out in tears, crying, falling to the ground. "M-My son, they killed my son! Stabbed him right in front of me." The woman screamed, which caused Orihime's heart to feel heavy, tears formed in her eyes. "W-What about the women of the village?" Orihime asked without receiving a reply. The woman in front of her was too shaken and traumatized by recent events that she couldn't comprehend the teenager's question. Luckily, one of the elders of the village noticed Orihime and took her by her arm. "Child, I'm happy you are safe. Let's get out of here." Orihime smiled at the elder as she suddenly remembered that her brother and best friend were still at the village. "Oh no! Kobayashi-san, do you know if Sora is still in the village? And what happened to Tatsuki and the girls? Are they still at Miyaki's studio?" Orihime totally forgot about her family and friends in the village, fear taking over. The older male with gray hairs of wisdom and wrinkles on his face met the eyes of the teenager, his eyes saying it all. "Sora... he didn't make it. He tried to defend the village. About Tatsuki, I'm not certain..." Before he could even finish his words, Orihime yanked her arm away and ran towards the city. Upholding her dress, so she could run faster, her mind racing as only her brother and best friend were on her mind. How could she forget her dear friends and brother? "Orihime-chan, please come back!" The elder yelled, too old to run after her. It was already too late. She was too far away. Like a maniac, she was running to the village. The road to the village was unmaintained and dry, with many uneven parts that caused the female to fall down, but she didn't feel any pain and got up again. She couldn't believe that her brother was dead and needed to see it for herself, and she needed to make sure Tatsuki was okay. Just the thought of these two gave her strengths to run all the way back to her little village.
After a run that felt like forever, Orihime was surrounded by flames and smoke. She reached the village she so dearly loved, which was now burning to the ground. Lifeless bodies of many males were lying on the ground. Their bodies massacred, most of them unrecognizable. The female knelt down beside a dead body and touched the torso of the male in front of her, crying softly. She recognized the clothes of the baker. The baker that would greet her every morning with a generous smile. The aroma's from his bakery, uplifting her mood instantly. "You did not deserve this..." She whispered.
"Nooo, p-please let me go!" Orihime's body stiffened upon hearing the high pitch scream of one of the maidens of the village, bringing her back to reality. She could not be caught at this very moment; she needed to find her brother. Around 5 meters from the corpse of the baker was a little carriage. She decided to hide her body behind a carriage that brought food to the village. She peeked around the corner and saw a big truck with women and two males dragging and throwing the girls in the truck. Orihime recognized one of the girls as she whispered, "They even got Chizuru-san." Being too focused on the sight in front of her, Orihime didn't notice that a large form appeared behind her, suddenly grabbing her wrist. The man pushed her on the ground and kept her firmly on the ground. "L-Let me g-go!" She tried to kick his lower part but couldn't reach the male, as if he had anticipated her moves.
"Oi, Grimmjow! Look what we found. Another one!" the man laughed hard, and it brought a nasty feeling in Orihime's stomach. Was this it? Was this supposed to be the end of her? The man dragged Orihime with him and pushed her in a truck. Orihime fell on the hard wood and looked around. In the back of the truck were six other teenage girls crying to their hearts content, recognizing some of them. The auburn haired girl couldn't bring herself to settle for the current situation and wanted to fight back and tried to climb out of the truck. She crawled to the end of the truck, sticking her head out. The two males that dragged her into the vehicle were nowhere to be found, which meant that she could get away! Just when she wanted to climb out of the back of the truck, a powerful fist of the blue-haired male met her face, knocking her out.
"Dad!" A few days later, a certain orange haired male entered his father's study at his parents' estate. In his anger, he pushed the big doors open with his super strength. Both of Ichigo's parents were sitting in their chairs, not even flinching as their son paraded into the room. "Old man, you!" Ichigo clenched his fist, and with his other hand he pointed his index finger at his father. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you send my men? Don't you trust me?" Ichigo's dad, a male in his 40s with dark hair and a well build stature, looked up at his son, a goofy smile appearing on his face. "My son! It is barely 9AM in the morning. I am enjoying my lovely morning coffee with my wife and here you are demanding answers. I don't even know what you are talking about." The father gave a smile to his wife before taking a sip of his coffee. "Old man, don't you dare act stupid. How can you not know what has happened in the last few days."? Ichigo said harsh, causing his father to once again look up from his book. "Care to fill me in, Ichigo?" Ichigo clenched his fist once again, he hated when his father would play dumb and act like he did not know what happened in the country. It was all over the newspapers. It's not like a king could not know what horrible things took place the last couple of days.
"The Kuchiki's raided at least 5 villages at the southeast side of the country! You know that those villages fall under Unohana's jurisdiction, which we are supposed to protect! Did you forget, dad?" Ichigo ended his sentence rather sarcastically, in dislike of his mother. "Ichigo, please don't talk that way to your father. He is still the king over part of the country." "I don't mind Masaki. It seems like our son is not really keeping up with current affairs." The word choice of Kurosaki Isshin caused the younger Kurosaki to scowl. He knew that when his dad was talking all confident like this, he surely had missed something, and oh how he hated for his father to be right.
"Ichigo, must I remind you that since you started a relationship with the sister of one of the most powerful persons in the country, our house has been disadvantaged? Last week, Unohana-sama sent a letter that she no longer required our protection and that her house would protect all the land themselves." Ichigo's eyes widened. How could he not know about this? The head of the Kurosaki army. For years the Unohana estate and the Kurosaki kingdom were great partners, and suddenly, their alliance had ended because of his relationship with Rukia. "My son, I am not against your relationship with miss Kuchiki, but please beware of who you are hanging out with. Must I remind you..."? Isshin wanted to continue but was stopped by his wife Masaki, sensing his words were doing more bad than good. "He gets the message. Ichigo... please do not feel bad. We love you, and we know you will bring greatness to our kingdom one day." His mother took his hand, squeezing it softly. "We love you..." Ichigo sighed and nodded. "I know. I wasn't even aware that the Kuchiki's were considering expanding their land. I feel like an idiot. Five villages, all ruined and in flames. I have to fix this, I have to fix our relationship with the Unohana family..." His clenched hand unclenched itself and Ichigo decided to leave the study of his father, making his way to his own room.
Once he arrived at his room, he lied down on his bed, staring at his family picture. In the middle of the picture there was his father with his ever goofy smile, king of the Kurosaki Kingdom. Kurosaki Isshin was known as one of the most strict yet lovable kings in Capon's history. He was a king who tried to keep his subjects far away from any war or conflict, but he was a man of negotiations and smart politics, unlike his son. His mother stood next to his dad with a smile like the sun, her strawberry-blonde hair shining, the beloved queen and his beloved mother. A woman of honor and grace that raised her children with a strong moral compass. His two little sisters Karin and Yuzu were standing next to their mother, just being themselves. The ever so famous princesses of the Kurosaki kingdom, beloved by the whole kingdom. Both paparazzi as the people in the city were so eager to get even a glimpse of the princesses. The entire family was aware of the twin's popularity and for their own safety kept them out of harms, away from the public. Karin was a tomboyish princess with and edge of elegance, while Yuzu was the cute princess with adorable traits. Ichigo loved them to death, and he knew that if something would ever happen to them, he would not forgive himself. And then there was Ichigo. Head of the army of the Kurosaki kingdom. A warrior with a high level of responsibility, monstrous strength which made all his enemies fear him. Besides his fighting spirit and strength, Ichigo was also very strategic and perceptive, causing his enemies to be extra wary of him and his army. All the women in the kingdom loved Ichigo, his great posture and body figure, but most of all his handsome face. Ichigo however wasn't concerned about women or his rough appearance of reputation. His heart belonged to the one and only Kuchiki Rukia, sister and next heir of the Kuchiki kingdom.
Ichigo's mind drifted off to his girlfriend, closing his eyes in the process. But for some reason, he felt uneasy and couldn't stop thinking about the recent events that took place in the country. "Why did the Kuchiki family raid land that is part of the Unohana family? Why did Unohana withdraw their army support?" He couldn't wrap his mind around it and groaned while rubbing his face. He needed to fix this for the sake of both his relationship as for the kingdom.
"Kuchiki-sama, Urahara-sama. I'm so sorry to interrupt, but a new load has arrived." One of Urahara Kisuke's workers entered the room while making the announcement. Two smiles appeared upon hearing the words of the guard. "Care to check the load, Kuchiki-sama?" Kisuke said in his usual chirpy voice. "I'd love to." A male with snow-white pale skin replied, his hair raven like his sister. Both males made their way to the load that arrived. At the gate there were around forty women standing in a row, their face faced down as they were not allowed to look up. Urahara and Byakuya walked around the row of women, checking out the females that were all trembling, their eyes falling on a certain auburn haired female. Both men looked at each other and exchanged a look. "Bring them inside!" Urahara yelled after a few minutes and the guards brought the females inside.
While the females were ushered inside, the males walked back to Urahara's office. "I don't like to beat around the bush, Urahara, so I will just tell you my thoughts." Kuchiki Byakuya said in his usual cold tone, his bright blue eyes narrowing while speaking. "I am searching for someone pure yet strong enough to proceed with our plans. The woman with light orange hair piqued my interest." Urahara Kisuke chuckled while listening to his superior's words. "It seems we are on the same page, Kuchiki-sama. She looks quite extraordinary, but who knows, we might not like what is on the inside. I'll observe her and share my findings with you." Byakuya simply nodded.
Meanwhile, two guards brought Orihime to her cell and pushed her inside. "Stay here. And don't think you can escape this place!" she gave the men a little nod and pushed her body to the bed that was standing in her room. Her beautiful face started bruising from the fist that met her face earlier. How did she even end up in such a place? Was she ever going to leave this place? Where was she and where was Tatsuki? "I don't want to stay here, onii-chan..."
This chapter was so exciting to write! Please leave me a review and let me know what you think! I'm excited to hear from you all!
With lots of love!