The clashing of steel.
The spatter of blood.
And a roar of madness.
"How many times have I dreamt this dream."
Grim resolve overtakes his body.
Charging forward, the vague figure before him roars in hatred and pain. How could something so terrible exist. Still the determination to achieve victory is ever strong.
"Why am I fighting."
As the battle prolongs, more wounds cover his tired body, though despite the pain, his resolve does not waver for the heavens themselves would come crumbling down before he did. Raising his hand, a light so brilliant draws away the darkness before him as he summons forth his attack. The vague figure mocks his attempt at resistance before him.
Still the attack strikes true.
"It's always like this, the battle will soon be over.
Despite his best efforts, nothing harms the terror before him. The resolve in his eye's wavers momentarily into cold acceptance, yet, like a fool unwilling to die lying down he renews his efforts once more despite the inevitable.
After all, when had fate stopped him.
He bared the title of victory, and wherever he went, so to would it follow.
So long as hope existed in the world, so to would the grasp of victory in the darkest hour.
"It won't be enough I'm afraid."
Throwing aside all defense he rushes forward, dodging, and weaving between attacks of cataclysmic scale. Putting all of his power into the path of promised victory.
The splatter of blood and the grunt of pain foretell his demise. Yet looking deep into the maddened eyes of the shadowed figure before him along with his outstretched hand that held a blade currently imbedded deep into the crazed being. Victory at the cost of great sacrifice. The fiend has been vanquished.
Though not before the bloodied spear had pierced his heart in return.
"Wake up"
As the shadowed figure fades away into nothing. The strength that he once had finally relents to exhaustion and he collapses upon the ruined space. Clutching at his chest, he knew that his time was about to come to an end and yet…
"Wake up"
Unfamiliar beings flash across his eyes as he stares into the distance, like his life flashing before his eyes the memories come and go, though he couldn't make heads or tails, he could tell they are dear memories to him.
"WAKE up"
Still before the last bits of consciousness he has fade away into nothing, a fleeting image of a women crosses his eyes. A feeling of longing overtakes him one last time as the image in his mind smiles at him, a beautiful smile that conveyed so many meanings into a single one.
"I'm sorry/I'm sorry"
His last words are an apology.
Yet the name he can no longer utter with sound fall out of his mouth one last time.
Twisting and turning in bed the boy jerks awake suddenly and grasps into the air as if reaching for something.
"Elysia…"
Uttering an unfamiliar name of someone he never met. A sudden feeling of anxiousness and longing momentarily overtake him. His racing heart and cold sweat on his body, leave him in a state of alertness, yet as he calm's himself down and shrugs the momentary confusion that overtook him, he finally goes back to laying on his bed with a tired look in his eyes.
"Hah, that dream again, what is it like the fifth time this month." A sound of tired resignation and annoyance come out of his mouth as he sinks his face unto his pillow.
Looking into the clock by his desk, it currently read as 4:00am, it wouldn't be long before school started and he only had a few hours of sleep left. Another sigh escaped from him as he resolved himself to make the most of it.
"Just a few more hours left, let's go back to sleep and hope for the best." As he got himself comfortable once more and closed his eyes. The feeling of sleep never came despite his best efforts.
Soon enough the first rays of the rising sun peeked through the curtains.
A new day had begun.
Name: Ichigo Kurosaki
Age: 17
DOB: July 15th
Occupation: Highschool senior
Status: Single
Goals: to be determined…
This basically summed up his life, still between 2 little sisters, a loving mother and a father that woke him up with a kick in the morning for "training" purposes.
It's not too bad.
Yawn*
Holding his hand to his mouth Ichigo made his way slowly down the stairs. Having dodged his father's kick and proceed to perform a take down on him, leaving him face planted in his room. Ichigo proceeded down to the kitchen where his mother, Masaki Kurosaki along with his younger sister Yuzu were making breakfast.
"Morning" his lazy, and slightly tired expression drew a slight look of concern from his mother.
"What's wrong ichigo?" the small dip in her smile as she asked him marked her concern.
"It's nothing, just didn't get enough sleep." Ichigo said as he suppressed another yawn.
"Watching porn late last night or something" came the totally blunt as a charging truck of a remark from his sister Karin. Choking slightly on the glass of milk he had just sipped from, the blush of embarrassment and shock of having his sister say something so outrageous almost made him spit out his drink.
Cough*
"OH MY…"
"KARIN…"
The dismayed expressions from both his sister Yuzu and mother did nothing to change the deadpan look on Karin's face.
"What's the big deal, it's normal for guys his age to think of that stuff all day." Karin said as she shrugged her shoulders.
Patting his chest, Ichigo grunted as he cleared his throat before finally looking at his sister with a slight scowl on his face. "That's not something you say out loud Karin, especially someone your age, how do you even know about this stuff!?" Ichigo said outraged.
"What's that supposed to mean? Kids my age just know these things as we go." Said Karin uncaringly.
Letting out a snort of bemusement, Ichigo went back to eating his breakfast.
Though not one to let questions go unanswered, Karin pressed with a slight twinkle of mischief in her eyes.
"So…was it porn?" the slight rise in her lips, earned her another fierce look from her brother.
"Dammit! KARIN! DROP IT!, and for your information, no, it was just…just a dream." Finished Ichigo with a slight rise to his voice.
"Jeez, bro, I was only joking, no need to be so serious." Karin said as she picked at her food.
Letting out a sigh of annoyance Ichigo went back to his meal.
"Still…"
"Karin…" the slight warning in Ichigo's voice did little to dissuade the black-haired girl.
"To think you would have 'those' kinds of dreams." Karin finished with slight smirk to her face.
"KARIN!"
After finishing his meal and saying his goodbyes Ichigo proceed to go on his way to school, though not before flicking Karin's forehead for her insolence. On his way to school, a bit of apprehension overcame him, after all today would be his first day at the prestigious Kuoh academy, an all-girls school that had recently turned co-ed for certain reasons. It hadn't been long since he had just recently moved to Kuoh town with his family. Having left Karakura town after his father got a better job offering.
"Well, it's not like I ever had anyone waiting for me back there anyway." Ichigo thought as he moved onwards. Having lived a somewhat solitary life back in Karakura town, what with his intimidating looks and reputation, most people couldn't even look him in the eye, much less speak with him. As for the even braver or foolish if one were to ask, would be the bullies who poked fun at his hair, well nothing like a few punches and kicks can't fix, not like he had to care about maintaining an image or something.
Arriving at the gates of the academy, the sight of students milling about and heading inside to find their homeroom, the academic feeling in the air along with the huge European styled building ahead marked his destination.
"Alright moment of truth." Stepping onto the school grounds, the moment his foot passed the gate, like a bomb having gone off, every student within the vicinity suddenly turned to stare at him. His bright orange hair reminiscent of a sunset, his chocolate brown eyes, and the slight scowl on his face, the musculature that his uniform couldn't quite hide with how form fitting it was, Ichigo bore the resemblance of a delinquent. Whether consciously or unconsciously the students around him gave him a wide berth.
"What the hell is this atmosphere!" ichigo mentally panicked. Looking around the vicinity, the fact that the other students walked a little faster when passing him, or the fact that they would turn their heads away from him when he turned to look at them, was confusing to him. "What the hell is wrong with them!" ichigo thought, finding the situation annoying. Still the damage was done, so with a huff of annoyance he made his way inside the building to find his classroom.
Looking at the billboard up front that had students crowded around, he could see a list of names with the classroom attached next to it. Slightly pushing himself to the front of the crowd, the looks of annoyance shot at him from the ones he bumped into instantly changed to panic when they met his eyes. Lowering their heads, some tried to make way for him as he passed them, it was moments like these that he found his intimidating looks useful for once. Having reached the front of the crowd, ichigo quickly scanned the board before finding his name.
"Ichigo kurosaki: Class-3A" ichigo spoke to himself as he repeated what was on the board. Well now that his classroom had been found, ichigo decided to wander the building before the time for classes began. After all, familiarizing himself with the building would be helpful when trying to find the restroom.
Sometime after the last 5 minutes before class started, ichigo leisurely made his way to his homeroom, passing by rushing students and gossiping friends. If one thing ichigo had to take note of as he passed by his fellow alumni would be that the proportion of female to male students was staggering. In fact, on his way to class ichigo had probably seen only 10-15 guys on his way up.
"Well, this place was an all-girls school not so long ago." Ichigo thought to himself. Still one thing did flash his mind if only momentarily. "Speaking of girls, what are they feeding them for them to look so…so THicc." Having passed many beautiful young women on his way to class, ichigo couldn't help but take notice of their appearance. In fact, many of them could easily have become very popular at his old school with their looks alone. It didn't help that the school uniform seemed to accentuate their bodies either. Shaking these thoughts out of his head ichigo arrived at his location, Classroom 3-A.
Opening the door, ichigo came face to face with a room full of girls. That's right a room full of girls. For a split second ichigo thought he had arrived at the wrong place. Though the 3-A did not change when he went to give it another look.
"Don't tell me I'm the only guy in this class" Ichigo mentally panicked as he made his way inside his classroom, though the indifferent look on his face helped hide his true emotions of internal panic. Looking around the room, the sight of all his classmates following his every movement to the only seat available at the back of the class near the window slightly made a chill go down his spine. Setting his stuff down, ichigo took his seat and proceeded to turn his gaze away from his classmates towards the window on his left in hopes to calm his racing heart. Like that time resumed once more in the classroom.
"Oh my, did you see the look on his face, how scary."
"What's with that orange hair?"
"Bad Boy Alert! Bad Boy Alert!"
"OH MY GAWD! HE"S HOT!"
"I wonder if he has a girlfriend!"
"Mr. delinquent! Please bully me!"
The animated chatter of his classmates as they talked or whispered around him did nothing to change his expression of indifference and calm, though the slight scowl that seemed almost permanently etched on his face gave his classmates a sense of warning as none dared approach him. Still despite his look of calm, the storm currently brewing on his mind made his scowl a little more pronounced. "They do realize I can hear them right! Also, I'm not a delinquent!" ichigo internally screamed as he faced the window.
Reining in his emotions, ichigo accepted the situation pretty calmly now, after all, rationalizing it in his mind, this academy just turned co-ed from an all-girls school. It would only make sense for all the 3rd years to be girls, after all, who would transfer schools on their last year of school.
"Wait, wouldn't this make me the only male senior in my year?" like a bolt striking him on the head, ichigo's moment of realization once more made his heart waver and his mask of indifference crack a little.
Letting out a sigh of mental exhaustion, Ichigo took a moment to look around the classroom. Though a sudden feeling of danger overcame him as it was at that moment that he felt a strong gaze settle on him. Feeling a sense of alertness from the sudden weight he turned to identify the cause. Looking towards the middle section of the classroom, it was at that moment when chocolate brown eyes met aquamarine eyes.
Crimson red hair flowed elegantly down her back, creamy white skin that looked soft to the touch, and a voluptuous body that was accentuated ever more by the school uniform. Her perfectly small face and nose, along with her elegant eyebrows and sharp yet intelligent eyes mesmerized him. Feeling a sense of breathlessness, ichigo felt like he was looking at an elegant and beautiful red rose sitting perfectly in the center of the classroom, the aloof feeling along with the charm that she radiated gave her the natural feeling of a seductress.
The scant second where their eyes met felt almost like an eternity for them.
Tap-tap*
Though soon the magical feeling that had formed between them in that lone second soon dissipated as the professor began her introduction. Averting each other's gaze, ichigo did not miss the small smile she flashed at him as she turned her gaze to the front.
Thump-thump*
Ichigo suddenly became very aware of the sudden beating of his heart, along with the slight blush that dusted his cheeks.
"What the hell was that" ichigo thought as he calmed his racing heart. It wasn't until the teacher proceeded to announce that they would have small introduction so that all would get to know one another.
"Alright let's start from front to back, left to right." The teach announced.
"I'll go first!" the cheery voice of his classmate resounded as she introduced herself along with one interesting fact about her. ichigo for his part would try to at least remember his classmates' names but, he wasn't exactly the best at that sort of thing. Keeping his focus on the introductions, it wasn't until it got to the center when the crimson haired girl rose from her seat to introduce herself, the amazement and awe in his classmates' eyes as they gazed at her told him all he needed to know about her position in this academy.
"Well, isn't she miss popular." Ichigo amusedly said to himself.
Looking at her classmates the crimson haired girl was quick to flash a smile as she introduced herself. "Hello everyone, my name is Rias Gremory." The crimson haired girl said as she greeted her classmates. "As for an interesting fact about me, well, I'm the president of the occult research club in this academy." The cries of excitement from his classmates at rias introduction deafened him as they praised her to the high heavens.
"Let's all get along for one more year everyone." Rias cheerfully said as she gazed at the class, her gaze circling the room before ending on him as she finished her introduction.
"That was very good Gremory-san, you may take your seat." The teacher said as she dismissed her. Walking back to her seat the feeling of her lingering gaze disappeared as she took her seat and faced forward.
It wasn't long before it was finally his turn.
Rising from his seat, ichigo calmly made his way to the front of the class as he proceeded to face his classmates. His slight scowl, and piercing eyes made many in the front unable to meet his gaze head on. Some even turned their head another direction unable to bear it. Letting out a sigh ichigo proceeded with his introduction.
"Hello, the name's ichigo Kurosaki, you may address me as ichigo if you wish as I'm not big on formalities. As for an interesting fact about me, hmmm, oh, my hair, its naturally orange in case anyone was wondering." Ichigo said as he held a face of disinterest.
"Let's try and get along with one another shall we." Ichigo said as he finished his introduction.
The silence that greeted him, did not help ease his scowl.
"V-very well-done Kurosaki-san, you may take your seat." The teacher said nervously as she dismissed him back to his seat.
As he walked back to his seat, ichigo did not miss the slight whispering as someone said "oh, we'll do more than get along, Babe~." The sudden feeling of concern that overcame him left him feeling weird.
"I don't know who said it, but they better stay the hell away from me." Ichigo mentally said to himself as he took his seat.
Like this class proceeded as normal.
It wasn't long before lunch hour arrived. Seeing his classmates leaving the class or remaining to talk and eat with friends. Ichigo who hadn't brought something with him decided to go see what the school cafeteria was like. On his way out, he also noticed the girl from earlier, Rias Gremory leave her seat when a buxom black-haired girl with violet eyes came to pick her up.
"A friend maybe?" ichigo thought to himself as he headed to get some grub. Well it didn't matter either way for his biggest concern right now was whether any food would remain by the time he got to the cafeteria.
Sometime after…
"W-What the hell?" seeing the long line ahead of him made ichigo feel slightly regretful at not having arrived sooner.
Letting out a sigh ichigo got in line.
"They say patience is a virtue, so God give me patience." ichigo mentally prayed as the line moved steadily. After some time ichigo got his lunch, though instead of finding a seat on the cafeteria which looked stock full of people, he decided to eat his food out in the courtyard behind the school building.
Finding a nice spot underneath a tree, ichigo took his meal and enjoyed the fine weather and breeze. Looking around, some students also wandered around as they hanged out with their friends or enjoyed their meals.
Like that ichigo enjoyed his time.
At the same time in an old school building, the headquarters of the occult research club, the president Rias Gremory enjoyed a cup of tea as her queen and longtime friend Akeno Himejima stood beside her.
"So Akeno, how's your first day back been." Rias said as she sipped her tea.
"Same as always, nothing new or noteworthy for me talk about, though it seems that the inclusion of boys inside the academy has liven the spirits of some of the girls in the class." Akeno said.
"Hmm, I can only hope that Kiba and Koneko can grow accustomed to the place, maybe even make some friends along the way." Rias mused to herself as she thought about her precious peerage members.
"Kiba most certainly, I can already see how many girls will become fascinated by him." Akeno said as she silently giggled to herself.
This also brought a small giggle out of rias.
"As for Koneko, that one is a bit…difficult, while she would most certainly be pretty popular amongst her classmates. It's honestly her personality I'm most worried about." Akeno remarked with a slight concern.
"Yes…I guess it would be a bit more difficult for Koneko to make friends, if any that is." Rias said as she thought about her more…reserved peerage member.
"Still, even if she doesn't get along well with others, she at least has us to talk to." Rias said, after all, peerage members would always look out for one another, especially those in her peerage.
Smiling in agreement, a comfortable silence settled between the two of them.
Though it was soon broken when Akeno asked how Rias day went.
"Well, it was…interesting to say the least." Rias said as she mulled the question over in her mind.
"Oh, do tell." Akeno asked in interest.
"You see, apparently, there is a male student amongst the 3rd years, more specifically my class." Rias said.
"Huh, really?" Akeno questioned.
"Yeah, crazy right." Rias said as she took a drink from her tea.
"The fact that Kuoh academy just recently turned co-ed means that male students amongst the seniors should be nonexistent, unless of course he transferred here on his final year, but, really who would do such a thing?" Akeno said in a "what can you do" kind of way.
"Perhaps he had circumstances, we aren't aware of yet, still, from what I've seen of him, he's actually quite handsome in a "Bad boy" kind of way." Rias said as she gave her assessment of ichigo's appearance.
"Hoh, has the great Rias Gremory found herself a future boyfriend~ " Akeno teased as she hid a smile behind her hand.
"Please cut the nonsense Akeno, I'm just giving my opinion, besides I haven't even talked to the guy yet." Rias said a little annoyed at Akeno's teasing, knowing her queen, if Rias didn't stop it soon she'll end up hearing it all day long.
"Peace, Rias, I'm just joking." Akeno said as she moved towards the window.
Looking out from the window, Akeno took in the view before something bright caught her attention amongst the tree's. It was a young man, the bright orange hair he had easily identifiable amongst all the green of the forest. The serene look plastered on his face as he looked over the courtyard caught her attention towards his handsome face, currently wearing the school uniform, the slight musculature she could see with her devil enhanced eyesight was quite the eye candy for her.
"My what a sight…" Akeno said with a dreamy sigh.
Noticing the shift in her Queens' tone, Rias got curious as she got up from her seat and approached the window. Looking at the direction Akeno was facing, rias came to quickly catch the sight of bright orange hair.
"Wait isn't that…" Rias slowly said as she recognized the figure.
Snapping out of her daze, Akeno gave Rias her full attention. "You know the hunk?" Akeno shamelessly said.
Sighing at Akeno choice of words, Rias nodded her head in affirmation. "Yes, that would be the only male student amongst the seniors. I believe his name was Ichigo Kurosaki." Rias said as she recalled his introduction in class.
"Strawberry? My what a cute name." Akeno said as she giggled to herself.
"If I were you I wouldn't say that to his face." Rias warned her friend. Still Rias couldn't quite hold back the slight smile that stretched across her face. After all, for someone that had such an intense gaze and intimidating aura, the name ichigo was just a bit…cute.
"Jeez, here I thought I had met a cute underclassman." Akeno sighed.
"What you interested in him or something." This time it was Rias turn to tease Akeno.
Smirking a little, Akeno replied with, "who knows, maybe I' am, so be careful Rias or I might steal him away from you." Akeno teased back.
"Akeno you! I told you it wasn't like that!" Rias said as she blushed a little.
"Who's interested in who! All I said was that he was somewhat handsome that's it. I swear this queen of mine sometimes…" Rias thought to herself, finding Akeno's antics annoying at times.
At the same time….
Achoo! *
"Huh, is someone talking about me?" ichigo said as he rubbed his nose.
Ding! dong!
The alarm that signified the ending of lunch hour snapped him back to reality as he realized it was time to head back.
"May the day go by quickly…" ichigo said as he headed back to class.
What ichigo currently did not know at the time as he headed back to class was that his time here at Kuoh academy will change his life in more ways than he could possibly imagine, as such the wheel of fate continues to spin.
It wasn't until 2 weeks into the school year that ichigo finally got into the groove of things. With his life consisting of getting up out of bed, going to school, study, go home, do homework, have some free time, and sleep. Then the process would repeat itself over again the coming morning. Of course, there were exceptions and such on the weekends when he would go about doing his own things, maybe he would laze around the house, exercise, go for a walk, maybe play some video games, or just explore the town. It wasn't an enthusiastic life, but it was normal, and that was good enough for him.
As for his school life. Well, aside from things still being kind of awkward with his classmates, as in most of them still being afraid to talk to him or approach him, some have at least looked past his intimidating aura to greet him in the morning. Overall a work-in-progress, still it would probably go faster if he acted nicer…well mom always said he had a charming smile so maybe he'd try it sometime.
"Kurosaki-san" the strict yet calm voice that suddenly called his name brought him out of his thoughts as he turned to look at who called.
A young woman with a slim figure, short black hair styled into a bob cut, and violet eyes that hid behind a pair of glasses. Wearing the girls Kuoh academy uniform, ichigo quickly recognized the person with just a glance.
"hah…I feel a headache coming…" was ichigo thoughts as he stared at the girl with a nonchalant look on his face.
"Morning Prez." Was ichigo's reply.
Sona Sitri, otherwise known as Sona Shitori by the human populace was the current student council president of Kuoh academy, with her peerage filling for the other positions. So as Sona pushed the frame of her glasses up her face, the sunlight that reflected off of them gave Sona a stricter aurora than she already had.
"Kurosaki-san, I believe this is the third time I have caught you breaking the school dress code. Not only are you missing your ribbon, but your shirt is not properly tucked in and your blazer is clearly unbuttoned." Sona pointed out as she examined the ruffian before her.
"Here we go." Sighing, it wouldn't be the first time ichigo had dealt with the ever-strict Sona and her tendency to uphold school rules, rather he found it somewhat admirable, just not when she directed it at him.
"Sorry Prez, I was in a bit of rush this morning and appeared to have forgotten a thing or two." The bullshit that slipped through his mouth did by no means fool her if the slight death stare she gave him was anything to go by.
"I would appreciate it if the prez would let it go this time, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." Too late to stop now, he could only hope to find an opening to escape.
"…"
The silence that stretched between them seemed to intensify as sona cold glare gazed at him, not buying his bullshit.
"I see." Was her answer after a short while.
"Yes, I hope the Prez can be understanding." Ichigo said.
"I see that kurosaki-san is in need of some disciplinary action for consistent breaking of school rules. If Kurosaki-san would follow me back to my office, we can have this settled." Sona said as she gestured for ichigo to follow.
"Surely you're joking." The slight scowl on his face becoming more pronounced as he tried to maintain his cool became evident.
"I don't think I'm joking." Was Sona's quick reply
"Well that's a shame" Ichigo said as turned to look out into the courtyard.
"Yes, now if you follow me…" She trailed off as ichigo continued.
"A shame because it appears madam Prez has bigger issues to deal with." Ichgio finished as he turned back to Sona.
"What do you-" she was cut off by the piercing screams of people coming out from the courtyard. Turning her attention away from the young man in front of her, Sona could see a group of women with wooden swords in hand chasing after three male students who looked to be running for their lives.
"Not this again." Sona said as she felt a migraine coming. After all, this event had become fairly recent as of late. Barely two weeks into the year and it appeared that 3 boys had already gained the infamous title of the perverted trio for their constant peeking habits into the women's locker room.
"Stay here, I'll be right…" Sona trailed off as she realized she was now standing alone, with the orange haired man now gone from her sight.
"…back." The sound of blood rushing through her veins and a throb forming on Sona's head, marked her current state of anger.
"One thing at a time, one thing at a time." With that she left back towards the building. Letting the trio suffer at the hands of the kendo club. The screams of pain that followed resonated throughout the school for a while. But no one paid it any mind.
Having escaped from Sona thanks to the poor bastards, ichigo knew it probably wasn't over yet. "I'll have to be careful not to get caught by her for a while." Ichigo said as he made his way to class. Honestly, ichigo didn't see the big deal in the school uniform, aside from how ridiculous it made him look with the ribbon attached, the stuffy feeling it gave him made him feel like he was drowning in discomfort. Nothing like a little modification wouldn't fix as he loosened the uniform a bit.
Entering his classroom, the chatter of his classmates no longer ceased upon his presence as they got used to him. Though the staring and slight whispers still continued from time to time. Taking his seat ichigo focused his attention to the window as always, despite having been here for two weeks, most if not all in his class have yet to develop the courage to come up to him and at least try to get to know him. He would have done it himself if it wasn't for the fact that most students couldn't even meet his eyes without almost pissing themselves mid conversation making it very awkward for him. Still, despite having no friends yet, ichigo didn't mind it all that much.
Though if he had to say there was at least one person who could talk to him in a normal setting.
"Morning Kurosaki-san" the passing greeting as the crimson haired young woman known as Rias Gremory gave him as she looked at him and smiled broke ichigo out of his thoughts as he took a moment to realize she was talking to him.
"Morning Gremory-san" his similar reply though lack of smile and more acknowledgement in his greeting was all before they went back to what they were doing. With Ichigo facing the window and Rias keeping to herself as her followers chattered amongst themselves occasionally asking Rias something.
It was exactly three days since Rias had started greeting him in the morning. At first it caught him off guard on the first day which earned the red head one of his confused stares before he realized what was going on. The second day he took it a little more normally and replied back. This time ichigo had come to realize that perhaps it wouldn't be such a lonely year if at least one of his classmates had worked up the courage to speak with him. Though their relationship couldn't be classified something as close as friends or even acquaintances, it could at least be acknowledgement of each other's existence.
It's a start.
Like that the day proceeded as normally.
At the end of classes, ichigo made sure to take the alternative exits out the building to avoid Sona as he had spotted her near the first-floor main exit. Luckily, she wasn't so hung up over his "rule breaking" to wait for him near the school gate, that would have been troublesome.
On his way home, ichigo decided to explore the town a little instead of heading home, after all, it was a Friday and all, might as well have some fun. Not like he had anything better to do. With that thought in mind, ichigo decided to visit the local arcade.
Sigh* a young woman sighed as she walked down the streets of Kuoh town. Today had been another stressful day at her job working as a game developer. Luckily for her, the project they had been working on was coming along swimmingly, all they had to do now was keep polishing it till the release date. Hopefully nothing unexpected happened during that time.
As a reward for a job well done, the young woman decided to go for a snack at a local ice cream shop. She wondered If she should have invited her friends along, but, she knew that they were busy with their own jobs so she didn't bother them. They could meet at another time. Walking around the town while caught in her thoughts she almost ended up bumping into another person in front of her as she swiftly broke out of her thoughts.
"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention." The young woman said as she nearly bumped into the person in front of her. Looking up towards the person who she almost bumped into she came face to face with another woman. Only that this woman felt…different.
Instead of saying anything the woman in front of her handed her a flyer of some sort. The woman was dressed in a rather provocative outfit looking like a short dress with bat like appendages attached to it. Perhaps a cosplayer of sorts is what most people would have thought. Accepting the flyer, the young woman looked it over as the stranger left without a word.
"Make all your wishes come true, huh." Reading over the flyer handed over to her, the young women looked over the symbol on the piece of paper and immediately knew what it was.
"Bunch of devil nonsense, another one of their petty tricks at getting humans to buy into their crap." The young women said as she crumpled the paper and threw into the nearest trash can. "Hmph, making any wish come true, hah, laughable, who do they think they're fooling, if they were that capable they wouldn't be stuck in their current predicament of near annihilation." After complaining about false advertisement, the young women went on her way as she headed home, though not before spotting an arcade nearby.
"Huh, been a while since I last been in one, good times." Seeing people coming and going, the young women checked her watch and saw that she had time to kill.
"Just a few games, yeah, blow of some steam." She said as she convinced herself. Entering the familiar place, the young women did not realize yet that this place would one day be one to remember for days to come.
Looking over the strange flyer with a weird symbol over it, ichigo kurosaki did not know what to make of it. All he had done was accept the flyer the cosplayer had given to him out of politeness, and maybe a bit out of having been charmed by her as well. Stuffing the flyer into his pocket ichigo entered the arcade and was met with the familiar setting of people coming and going, children and young adults having fun, as well as the colorful and flashing lights of arcade machines in use. Luckily ichigo checked his wallet beforehand to make sure he had extra cash on him.
"Alright which one first" ichigo muttered as he looked around. After a moment though he decided on the ever-present Mario kart game. Classic.
Four were bunched up together in the middle forming a square, a multiplayer game with four available seats. Good for him at least two seats were still available. Getting on one, ichigo waited for the last person who quickly filled the seat opposite of him so he couldn't quite see them.
"This should be fun" were his thoughts as ichigo picked his character and waited for the timer to start.
3
2
1
Impossible.
The young woman who had sat opposite of Ichigo was currently looking at the screen in front of her in utter confusion. What should have been in easy victory for her was completely flipped over as the number 2 in front of her marked her in 2nd place.
"…" She didn't know how to react. She was so sure of herself, not to brag or anything but she was also a professional gamer at one point in her life, she had won championships for crying out loud. A mere arcade game against filthy casuals should have been as easy as taking candy from a baby. Though looking at the silver medal in front of her screen really flared her competitive spirit up in indignation.
Seeing the other players around her leaving after the match, the young women left her seat to quickly see who won 1st place. It wasn't until she spotted an orange haired young man leaving his seat with a look of satisfaction that she found the person she was looking for. Checking his screen out of the corner of her eye, the mocking 1st place title laughed at her.
"Excuse me" the monotone voice the women used easily caught the orange haired man's attention as he turned around in confusion as to who was talking to him.
"Excuse me" the sound of a monotonous voice yet, clearly feminine alerted him to someone's presence behind him. turning around, ichigo was met with a young woman, she had long wavy silver-gray hair with the ends slightly curled, her eyes were a gray color with a hint of blue, her clothes were a business casual, probably had just gotten off of work. though what really drew his attention was her natural beauty that she exuded with a hint of elegance, her voluptuous body made her look akin to a model with a pretty face, long slender legs, and a buxom chest.
Though if he had to say something would be that her current deadpan expression, was…kind of cute in a weird way. Snapping that thought out of his mind ichigo focused on what the lady wanted from him.
"Yes?" ichigo questioned.
"Are you the one who won the previous game." Though she already knew the answer, she still asked anyways.
"Huh, I mean yeah, it was me, why do you ask?" ichigo asked confused.
"Rematch" she said in the most inexpressive way he had ever seen someone pull.
"What?" having not snapped out of his confusion, ichigo's lame reply slipped out of his mouth.
"Rematch" she once again said.
"Here. Right now." Ichigo who finally regained his reasoning asked the young women who wanted to challenge him again.
"No. A different game." Though her pride had been hurt, she wasn't such a sore loser that she could not accept her defeat, a loss was a loss after all. She just had to beat him at another game to regain her lost pride.
Having accepted this strange women's request ichigo asked, "Alright then, which one do you want to play." Seeing that he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, ichigo might as well kill time by playing a few games with the stranger before him.
Looking around for a moment the women made sure to pick a game she was confident in winning, it wasn't cheating, after all, it would be his fault for letting her choose. It was only a few moments when she finally decided on a fighting game.
Mortal Kombat.
Taking opposite sides from each other the young man before her introduced himself in a friendly way before the game started.
"I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Ichigo Kurosaki, a pleasure." He said as he looked towards her.
"Bronya Zaychik" was her short reply.
"Bronya, alright, good luck then." Ichigo said good naturedly as a slight smile started to spread on his face. The feeling of competitiveness overcame him. "yeah this should be fun" were his thoughts as he selected his character.
"Good luck? Luck? Heh, Pro's don't need luck. Skill is all we need." Bronya thought as she selected her character.
"This will be my win/ I'll win for sure this time." Were their thoughts as the game started.
Scorpion Wins! FATALITY!
"YES!"
"Fuck"
Two separate responses to two separate outcomes.
Once more ichigo had defeated bronya at a game, the beheaded sub-zero marked her defeat. Though ichigo will admit that he had been close to losing for most of the match, with her driving him up against the walls each time. Though luckily for him she had relaxed her combo a little the moment he was about to lose, letting him clutch the win at the end in a moment of desperate button smashing.
Though what ichigo didn't know was that Bronya had accidentally hit the taunt button as she performed her combo, giving ichigo the chance to break out of her hold and drive her up against the wall in a chain of attacks.
"That was fun. Want to play another round." Ichigo asked, a small smirk forming on his face.
"…" staring at the screen in front of her, Bronya once again found her self questioning the meaning of existence. There was just no way someone like her would make such a rookie mistake as hitting the taunt button mid combo, yet, her finger slipped.
"Hey. You alright?" ichigo asked worried he had upset the women next to him.
Shaking her head, Bronya snapped out of her thoughts as she reassured the man next to her. "it's fine, let's play a different game." Deciding to challenge him once more to one, ichigo agreed, after all, he was currently having a great time.
"Sure, which one this time." And like that the two went up against each other time after time.
Racing game
Winner: Ichigo
Loser: Bronya
Cause: shell hit bronya right before the finish line.
Fighting game
Winner: ichigo
Loser: Bronya
Cause: Bronya accidentally hit the taunt button.
Hunting game
Winner: Ichigo
Loser: Bronya
Cause: the trigger button got stuck as bronya prepared her last shot.
Basketball
Winner: ichigo
Loser: Bronya
Cause: ichigo has superior athletic abilities.
Dancing
Winner: ichigo
Loser: Bronya
Cause: Bronya's high heel snapped mid stomp causing her to lose her balance.
Results: Overwhelming victory for ichigo.
Do you wish to play again?
[Yes/No]
[NO]
The sigh that escaped bronya's mouth as she clutched the snapped heel in her hand left ichigo feeling a bit bad.
"You know it could have been worse, could've twisted your ankle with that fall." Ichigo said as he tried to comfort the girl.
"These were a brand-new pair." Was all she said as she went back to staring at her now ruined heels. Wincing a little at her tone of voice, ichigo was feeling a bit guilty, after all it was him who had suggested playing the dancing game as their final match. After consecutively winning against the young women time after time, he started to feel a bit bad at her desperate attempts to beat him at any game. As such choosing a game where he knows he wasn't all that great at, ichigo was prepared to lose. Though he didn't quite expect the end result of one of her heels snapping.
"Wait here for a second." Leaving the girl for a moment. ichigo didn't take long as not even 3 minutes later he returned to the confused women, only this time he had a stuffed animal in hand. Specifically, it was a HOMU plush dressed as a knight. Seeing the familiar toy in front of her, Bronya couldn't help but stare at the young man before her in confusion.
"Although its cheap compared to your shoes, I hope you can accept it. After all, though excluding the last part, I had a great time. So here, take this as a token of my appreciation." Ichigo said with a slight blush dusting his cheeks. He wasn't exactly cut out for this kind of thing, were his thoughts as he handed Bronya the plush toy.
Accepting the stuffed Bunny, Bronya couldn't help but recall her childhood and how fond she was of these toys back then. Well, maybe she still was. Giving the young man before her a look of gratitude she couldn't help but let a small smile grace her face.
"Thank you, though may I ask why?" Bronya said as she stared at the teen.
"Well, you can just take it as me trying to cheer you up a little." Ichigo said as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Cheer me up? yeah I guess it did." The small giggle that escaped the women's mouth at the end, was all ichigo needed for him to feel his face heat up in embarrassment. Though it was his intention to make her feel better, the fact that he had to say such things to person he just met left him feeling rather embarrassed.
"Thank you, ichigo, I'll treasure it always." Bronya said as she hugged the bunny.
"Please don't." ichigo said. feeling his face heat up once more at how mushy he had been earlier.
Checking her watch, Bronya realized that it was time for her to go, looking outside one could already see that the sun was about to set. "I guess It's time I call it quits today, a shame that I wasn't able to beat you at anything." She said as she slightly glared at ichigo in faux anger.
Letting out an awkward laugh, ichigo averted his gaze away from the women as he had nothing to say about that.
"Regardless, I, despite my losses today, had a lot of fun." Bronya said as she got up from her seat.
"Is that so. Thanks, I too had a great time." Ichigo replied back.
For a moment the two stood there in silence as they stared at each other. A feeling of comfortable silence fell between the two, with the surrounding noises blurring out, and the passerby's blending into the background. For in this small moment, that couple of seconds that stretched on, it was only them two that basked in each other's presence.
Bronya was the first to avert her gaze as she made a slight cough sound to draw his attention. Like that the silence that had settled around them shattered and the world resumed. Despite that ichigo and bronya both now carried slight blushes that dusted their faces as they averted their gazes from one another.
"I-I should go now." Bronya said quickly as she averted her gaze, yet the slight blush on her face, the beating of her heart, made her feel slightly conscious about the man next to her.
"y-yeah, see you later." Ichigo said rather awkwardly as he too averted his gaze from Bronya.
With that Bronya who clutched the HOMU bunny in her arms left the arcade, though before she could leave, she heard ichigo call out to her one last time.
"Will I ever see you again." Ichigo said as he slightly regained his composure and uttered the words before she could leave.
Without turning back, Bronya who had somewhat calmed her racing heart, said. "Who knows, if we are fated to meet once more, then we will do so. Till then ichigo." With that Bronya left the store leaving behind a slightly disappointed ichigo.
Letting out a sigh ichigo also left the arcade a few moments later.
After having arrived home, ichigo had dinner with his family and afterwards took a shower before deciding to head to bed.
Lying on his bed, ichigo contemplated todays happenings, specifically his meeting with a beautiful stranger.
"If we are fated to meet, huh." The last parting words Bronya gave him left him feeling a slight bitter taste in his mouth. After all, Kuoh, while not a big town, didn't mean it didn't have a couple hundred thousands of people living within it. The chances of a stranger meeting the same stranger in the street was already a slim chance of happening, add to the fact that ichigo wasn't exactly a regular to that certain area of town. Simply put the chances of them meeting each other again was very small.
"Should I have asked for her number." Ichigo muttered to himself. Now most would probably think that what ichigo was feeling was a sense of longing, perhaps a form of disappointment at failing to pursue a romantic relationship. Yet, that was not the case for ichigo, while sure he did find the women to be beautiful, what really left him feeling disappointed was the fact that he felt like he had missed out on making a friend. For the first time sense arriving at this town, ichigo could genuinely say that he had fun in the company of another person. The loneliness that he felt seemed to have vanished in the time he spent with her.
Sigh*
Deciding that was enough, the creeping feeling of exhaustion that had accumulated amongst all the excitement seemed to sap whatever strength he had left as the feeling of sleep started to settle in.
Closing his eyes, ichigo let the feeling of sleep claim him, as his breathing calmed, and body settled into a state of rest, ichigo entered the realm of dreams.
In an unknown time, in an unknown place. The everlasting void that was the universe, from far away galaxies, to the twinkling of stars across vast distances. He could see all of it as he gazed at his surroundings. Though, despite the picturesque scene before him, it was irreversibly ruined by the "scar" in front of him, like someone had grabbed a knife and tore a gash across the painting, only for it to be crudely stitched back together by improper application of tape that only ripped the surface level of the painting leaving the ripped white paper undeath for all to see.
Despite that it was now his responsibility to rid the world of this scar before him, well maybe not his alone. Looking behind him, he could see 12 others at his back, his companions, his friends, the people who he could fully trust his back on the battlefield. Together they would venture into the great unknown, find what lied at the heart of this and destroy it, that was their mission, their purpose.
They would not fail.
"Is everyone ready." He called out to them. though it was just out of formality, he already knew that they were well prepared for this.
"Ready"
"Whenever you are"
"Let's get this over with"
"Just say the word"
"This will be fun"
Were their responses as they resolved themselves for what was to come.
"Alright then let's go." Approaching the 'scar' in front of them, the orange haired man took the lead with the others falling behind him.
"Soon, this terrible war will come to a close." Were his last words as he disappeared into the 'scar.'
Yeah, this was their duty. As monarchs, it was not only their duty to protect humanity, but all of creation. It was the sole reason they were given such power by their creator. The war that had ravished across uncountable worlds for many eons would finally end if they destroyed the being within the 'scar.'
They were the last heroes.
The 13 Monarchs.
The 13 Flame-Chasers.
"Their story would one day be told again, as new stars are born anew, and old foes rise again."
"Though you don't know it yet, you will be at center of it all."
"Still our time is not yet upon us, it's still too soon for the world to be aware of our glory."
"So, for now, sleep."
"…and may the glorious dawn shine upon you come morning, ichigo kurosaki, Monarch of Victory.
Deep within the recesses of his mind, the voice within ichigo spoke as he looked at the fragmented memories that floated aimlessly within the Mindscape.
And Cut.
Hello dear readers, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter to my new story. Honestly, I have had this idea floating around in my head for quite some time, I just could never find the time or will to put it into words. Well, that is until today, sometimes a leap of fate is all one needs to get the ball rolling. Now let's move on to what were here for.
So, what is this story about exactly.
Well, if the intro wasn't enough I'm basically making a Bleach x DxD crossover with story elements as well as certain characters from other anime. Though it will still be primarily a Bleach x DxD crossover at its core.
Now as some of you have noticed I have indeed made a slight crossover with Honkai impact 3rd, mind you some of the characters I use might act slightly OC, though I will try to keep them true to their character, it will be slightly difficult as certain characters are the way they are because of certain events. As such don't expect me to bring everyone into it, as I'm only selecting characters that I like.
Will Honkai be the only one to be brought in. The answer to that is no. Though I'll leave that as a surprise and for you guys to find out when the story progresses.
Also, before anyone asks.
Will this story be Harem?
Of course, you silly goose. Otherwise this wouldn't be a DxD crossover without harem.
Though before I hear some complaints. NO! ichigo will not be a devil or part dragon, or whatever else I could mix him with, he will be 100% human. This means that soul reapers and quincy's don't exist in my story as it leans more to the dxd side than bleach.
Hollows will stick around though as I have plans for them.
Also, the 13 flame-chasers are not the same as in Honkai. As they also go by the name of the 13 Monarchs in my story.
So here will be a list of 1-13, with the one's people can already expect without much guessing.
Monarch of Victory – Ichigo Kurosaki
Monarch of Finality – Kevin Kaslana
Monarch of Origin - Elysia
Monarch of Sentience
Monarch of Thunder
Monarch of Reason
Monarch of Destruction
Monarch of Shadows
Monarch of Void
Monarch of Severance
Monarch of Domination
Monarch of Life
Monarch of Geo
I wonder if you guys can guess which character will be which monarch. Also, the number doesn't imply strength or power just a way for me to number them in no correct order.
Also, their title kind of corresponds with their abilities, not just a moniker, kind of like the Herrschers.
Which I ask: What is Victory?
Interpret it as you will. Just know that ichigo will be a BAMF.
Till then.
Thank you for reading and please leave a review as I'm interested in your thoughts to this story as well as constructive criticism.
Have a great day.