AN: I still don't own Bleach. Or anything else of significance, for that matter.

Chapter 4: Meeting and a Past Revealed

After making most of the walk in silence between Unohana and Ikkaku, who was currently holding Kishin, Kakumau decided to try his luck with conversation again. "Captain Unohana, I don't suppose you would be willing to give me any advice about this meeting?"

She stopped walking, and turned to look at him, for once with no smile on her face, and said, "Be honest and hold nothing back. You seem like a good man, but we will know if you are lying, and if you cannot be trusted, there are those who will get the truth from you by means that I do not wish to explain. Do you understand?"

At first, Kakumau was in shock, but when he saw what appeared to be concern in her eyes, he simply bowed and said, "Thank you, Captain Unohana, I understand. I will be completely honest with you all." Once he said this, he saw her smile return to her face. Shortly thereafter, they came to a door where Unohana stopped. Looking to Ikkaku, she took Kishin from him and dismissed him. Once Ikkaku had left, Unohana knocked on the door.

"Enter," came the reply, in a voice that reminded Kakumau a bit of Kishin. The voice clearly was aged, but seemed to carry an unquestionable amount of wisdom and power in it. Unohana opened the door and led him into the room. As he looked around, he couldn't believe the level of power flowing through the room. Directly in front of him was the source of the earlier voice, an old man of incredible stature and even greater power, obviously the Captain Commander. Unohana's warning about honesty was wasted. Even without it, Kakumau couldn't conceive of attempting to trick such a man. Unohana placed Kishin at the Commander's feet and then took her place in the row of captains. Kakumau knew he should try to get a read on the other captains as well, but instead he simply tried to maintain eye contact, or at least what he thought was eye contact, with the squinting Commander.

"Child, what is your name?" came the first question from the Commander.

"I have no name, sir. I am called Kakumau Konrinzai, but that name was given me by a friend after I had already been in Soul Society for more than two decades."

"Very well, Kakumau. How did you come into possession of your zanpakuto?"

Kakumau lowered his head and closed his eyes.

'You had to know this question was coming. Tell them the truth.'

"Very well, but if I must tell this story I would ask that you let me complete it before asking any further questions." Receiving a nod from the Commander, he continued, "When I first arrived in Soul Society, I was lost and confused. I had even fewer memories of my time in living world than most seemed to. I was on my own in the 73rd district of Rukongai, doing odd jobs to try and earn money for food. The things I saw disgusted me. People killing each other for no reason, even children being slaughtered. I tried to numb myself to it, to pretend I didn't see it, or that it didn't bother me. Over my 25 years in the Rukongai, I had come to despise myself for my cowardice as much I hated the people who were doing these things. I started to have the same dream over and over. I would be in the courtyard of an old shogun style house, surrounded by a forest that was ablaze with a roaring fire. Every time I'd panic, looking for a way to put out the fire or escape, a samurai would come out of the house in full armor and stare at me. The first few times I had the dream, he wouldn't say anything, just shake his head at me, and then walk back into the house. It was a few weeks after I'd started having this dream that I saw something that changed my life.

-Flashback-

Kakumau is walking down a street carrying lumber for one of his odd jobs when he hears something happening down one of the alleys. There he sees a store vendor about to beat a boy to death over some bread he had stolen, nothing uncommon really. Just as he was about to turn and walk away, seemingly out of nowhere came a man no more than 5'2". He stepped in between the boy and the vendor, and took blow after blow for the boy, never retaliating. Kakumau couldn't move, he just stood there and watched. Finally, the shop keep got tired and left, and the little man fell to the ground, exhausted. Kakumau finally regained his senses and rushed over to the man and boy.

"Hey kid, you ok?" asked the strange man, with concern evident in his eyes even through the blood and bruises littering his face and body. When the kid nodded through his sobs, the man's eyes lit up and he got a big grin on his face. "Good. Run on home now." After the kid took off, the man blacked out. He awoke later, very sore, but not as bad as he expected. "Where am I?"

"At my house. After the beating you took, I couldn't just leave you in the street." The man turned to see who was speaking to him, and vaguely recognized the face he had seen just before blacking out.

"Heh, thanks for that. But I'm fine," he said with a sincere smile. When he tried to get up, however, he couldn't hide the pain, and he fell back onto the bed groaning. "Ok, so maybe a little less than fine."

"Why did you do that?"

"What? Protect the kid? Are you kidding me? How could I not?"

"Did you know him?"

"Nope, not a damn clue who he is. What's that got to do with anything?"

-End Flashback-

"After that, we talked for a long time. He told me his name was Ronin. He said he was just a wanderer who tried to help wherever he could. He made me realize that I could make things better; I didn't have to accept what they were. After he recovered, I left and started travelling with him. I got a little overzealous and started throwing myself between any two people fighting. I wanted all the violence to stop, and if I couldn't stop it, I wanted to try to make sure I was the only one who got hurt. That's when Ronin gave my name, Kakumau Konrinzai. This whole time, I kept having the same dream, but it was slightly different. The blaze in the forest had died down a little more with each passing night, until finally, the fire was completely out. That night, the samurai came out again, but this time he took off his helmet.

-Flashback to Mindscape-

"Who are you old man? And why do I keep having these dreams?"

"I am…"

"What? I can't hear you."

"It seems you are not yet ready to know my name, young one. I shall answer your questions as best as I can. I am part of you, a part of your soul. We are in your mind. I am the reason for your dreams. I have been trying to contact you. Before, you were too full of self-hatred and cowardice, but now, you have found the strength to fight, and more importantly, a reason to defend."

"What do you mean? Part of my soul?"

"You, boy, are destined to be a guardian, a protector. You have been given the power to do it, and I am that power. One day, you will find a reason why you no longer desire my power, but why you need it. On that day, you will be ready to know my name."

-End Flashback-

"True to his word, it wasn't more than a week later that I found my reason. Ronin had gotten between a fight again, but something was wrong. Someone was attacking Ronin with a dagger. I started to panic, then in my mind I heard a familiar voice guide me. I hollered Kishin Hogosha, and my sword appeared in its shikai form. I went and beat the living hell out of the men who had attacked Ronin, but I was too late. He died smiling while I knelt by his side. I lost it, and cried myself to sleep in the street. When I woke up, Kishin was by my side, but in his unreleased state. That's how I got my zanpakuto, and also how I managed to achieve shikai."

The room was full of whispers, as the captains discussed what they had just heard, specifically whether or not they believed Kakumau had truly achieved shikai. During all this, Kakumau kept his eyes locked on the now one open eye of the Captain Commander, insisting through his eyes that every word was true. Finally, the Commander stamped his staff on the ground, calling the room to silence. "You may all address any questions to Kakumau himself rather than simply whispering amongst yourselves."

"Excuse me, Kakumau?" At the kind tone of the question, Kakumau turned his head to the side to see a tall man with long white hair and a kind face seeking his attention.

Kakumau forced a smile onto his face as he responded, "Yes, Captain…?"

"Ukitake, thank you. How long ago did you achieve shikai?"

"Probably about thirty years ago."

"And why have you not come to Seireitei since then?"

"Honestly? Because I hate the idea of my sword being at someone else's discretion. I am not willing to wait for permission before helping someone who I think needs it. And on top of that, with all due respect, you guys don't do a whole lot for the people of the Rukongai. I have no real interest in the living world, seeing as I don't remember anything about it, but the Rukongai has been my home for 75 years now, and even if I don't know the people, I know there struggles. Someone has to protect them, too."

At this point, he noticed a small woman with twin braids going down behind her getting a bit upset. 'Ah crap, that last part pissed her off.'

"What do you mean we don't do much for the people of Rukongai? My division sends out patrols on a regular basis throughout the districts to find and eliminate hollows!"

"Again, Captain, I meant no disrespect. I understand it's impossible to be everywhere at all times, and I'm sure your division does an incredible job of destroying the hollows that pop up from time to time. But hollows aren't the major threat on a daily basis in outer Rukongai. It's other human souls."

She seemed to calm down a little bit at this, but was still clearly upset. Next a man with brown hair and glasses stepped forward. "Now that you are here, would you be interested in becoming a shinigami?"

"Well sir, it depends on my options. Again, I'd prefer to go back to wandering the Rukongai, but if my options are not being able to protect anyone while I sit in a cell or putting Kishin to work defending people as a shinigami, well then, I'll do what I have to do."

Now a man with a pink flowery jacket and a hat pulled down over most of his face stepped up. "Yama, how bout we see this guy's skills a bit before we make a decision?"

"Very well. Captain Kenpachi, please summon your third seat and have him meet us in the courtyard to test Kakumau."

A man with an eye patch, bells in his spiky hair, and a menacing grin stepped forward. "Heh, yeah, I'll be right back."

'Alright Kishin, ready to roll?'

'Yes, that last fight was a bit embarrassing. Let's prove ourselves.'

'I can't wait to wipe the smug smile off his face.'

Ok, time for another shameless plea for reviews. I'm not naive enough to think I've written a perfect story here. But I'm also not an experienced enough fiction writer to know how to fix it on my own. Please please please send me some reviews so that I can improve my story, and my style in general for any future stories.