Chapter 1: The Beginnings of a Soldier

"Even if I should die on this adventure, I know that I die for a righteous and proper cause."-Captain Desmond Hayden, 5th Vermont Regiment, January 3rd 1865.

The first question someone might have regarding Desmond Hayden is how a westerner ended up within the Soul Society. A fair and valid question, and it cannot be ignored. Before we can truly begin to understand the unlife that he lived, we must first take a peak into his mortal life. For the sake of narrative exposition, let us turn back the pendulum to the 1800s United States of America. In a state known as 'Vermont', roughly translated from 'montagnes verdoyantes' or green mountains. An apt name for the rolling lush hills of the state.

A baby was born within a cottage in 1845, to unremarkable people in an unremarkable town. He lived as a child, until he was able to pay his keep in the family. Being in the mountains of Vermont it was harsh living, but extraordinarily beautiful. The distant memories of orange hazy skies and beautiful autumn leaves would haunt his mind for years to come, both in this life and the next. The harsh winters and deep snow foster a strong body and spirit of determination, that would surely be of use in the years to come. Very little of this is important, other than to set the premise for the boy who would emerge in 1861.

That year was the start of the American Civil War. It was the same year when Desmond Hayden enlisted into the Union army, at the ripe age of sixteen. Of course, he did so under the cover of night without informing his parents least they try to stop the young man. This was perhaps the fateful action which would place him on the course to become the man he was. Answering a call of duty beyond what was required of him, this would be a common trope in the man's life. He was assigned to the 5th Vermont Infantry, within the 1st Vermont Brigade.

In the War Hayden would see much of the country, he'd be exposed to places and sights that his young man couldn't fully grasp. One might be able to write an entire novel on the exploits that a young man experienced in the war, but only a few moments will provide insight into our titular protagonist. It was not the battles which defined him, but the hardship he endured. The long marches that left his feet tired, his shoulders rubbed raw by the strap of his backpack, and the callous hands developed from holding a musket.

Of course, he became intimately familiar with death. A soldier in a war learns that harsh lesson soon, or not at all.

It is funny in hindsight to consider the historic events he took part in. In the moment he didn't think he was making history, he simply was fighting for a cause that he thought was right. He wanted adventure and found purpose. And that was worth more than any safety or luxury that a wealth life could provide.

He handled himself fairly in the war, by 1863 the eighteen-year-old had won himself a battlefield promotion to a lieutenant. A young man hardened by two years of hard war, he remembers many of times where a single stray shot almost ended up. When the man next to him was alive one moment and gone the next. He traded his musket in for a pistol and saber, leading from the front. After all, he was a part of the famous 'Green Mountain Boys.' That was what they called Vermonters, and their units. Crazy mountain men with a penchant for fighting and defying odds.

As the war neared its conclusion, the young officer would live up to the title of his regiment once more. In 1864 a battle known as 'The Battle of the Wilderness' took place; Hayden's unit was among those brought to reinforce a weakened Union position that was being assaulted by Confederate forces. He recalled moving along the southern flanks, his nerves steeled for coming confrontation of fire and steel. A young man, perhaps a year younger than himself, white knuckle gripping his musket and shaking. A fresh recruit, who had not spent their formative years at war like himself.

"Take heart, man. We shall soon be upon the enemy, and we shall whip them and be done with it. We Vermonters get the job done."\

He knew not if his words had an effect on the young man, but he could see the steel in their eyes. It was enough, for now. And then the fight began, the powder smoke of hundreds of muskets erupting and the chaos that followed. At some point an order was issued, a retreat. To fall back, perhaps they had taken too many casualties. But to give their positions now would create a hole in their line, and it would lead to the slow death of the Union forces.

This could not be allowed.

Hayden cannot claim to have been the one to issue the order, for he would not overstep the bounds of his authority, but he can claim that when the order of 'Charge' was given he did not second guess it. He raised his saber, pointing it towards the distant troops, as he shouted at his own line.

"Mount Bayonets! The time of decisiveness has come, for we are on the side of Justice, and they are on the side of chains! Follow me, and Charge!"

The battle cry erupted from his mouth as he led the charge, such was the nature of battle. A barely nineteen-year-old male leading men to their deaths. Sixteen when he entered the war, and twenty by the time it ended. Where other men cracked under the pressure of command, he found himself rising ever higher. Pushing the limits of himself and wagering everything for the price of victory.

The Civil War would end. And with it, his leadership within the Union Army.

However, we now enter a key moment in the life of Desmond Hayden. For when he returned to his home in Vermont, he was greeted with mixed reaction. He had written to his family sparingly, and they had written to him as much. He was alive, scarred and changed, but alive. And waiting for him was a letter from the Department of Foreign Affairs. See, during the end of the war as units where disbanded Hayden was approached by the Federal government. With the Union united once more, they had much work to do domestically but also internationally. He expressed a desire to keep serving, and by divine providence it was granted.

Hayden would serve among a small unit attached to the diplomatic envoy; this diplomat was headed to Japan. And thus, by 1866 Hayden would first step foot in Japan.

AN: Hey! Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter. This one was a lot of fun to write, mostly because I've always had an interesting in the American Civil War. Fun fact, all battles referenced and units actually happened!

I know this isn't very bleachy yet, but we'll get there I promise. Hayden's existence in Japan was a weird conflux of happenstance and personal luck. If you can call it that. I hope this chapter really started to show the type of man he started out as, how war at such a young age had a good and bad effect on him. Any advice or insights into how I'm doing would be appreciated.

Again thank you!