The World Where Death Reigns

Death All Around
"For the longest time..."

Came a voice.

"...I could see these things we know as spirits. And I never quite could understand. I was aware of them. They were aware of me. But..."

"...It was strange."

His name was Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student of age seventeen. From his birth, he could always see things that others were unable to. But he never let it get to him. He always maintained his sense of self, almost as if it were normal to see these strange human-like beings with chains dangling from their breast. Never before did the world of the spiritual bother him... until that night occured, eight years ago.

That Night
"You did magnificant today, Ichigo. You really will be able to test for your green belt soon!" spoke the soft voice of a motherly woman with dirty blonde curls, bearing a bright sunny smile, to which the young child holding her hand returned a smile of similar property. But before she could continue, the feeling of rain drops began to fall on their smiling faces.

"Oh dear... Ichigo, we should hurry before it starts really downpouring." she remarked. But the young child's eyes were focused down a hill, where the river lay. There he could see a young girl... walking along the river barrier slowly.

"H-Hey!" shouted out the young Ichigo. "You could get hurt doing that!" he continued, as he let go of the woman's hand and began a trek down the hill.

"Ichigo! Ichigo, stop!" were the last sounds that could be heard.

Darkness... That was all that the young child could see or hear. But wait...

The rain. Yes, it was raining earlier. This was a sound he knew. The young child opened his eyes, having come to the realization that he was laying down on the wet grass. Did he lose conciousness? He must've... Nothing that had occured after running down that hill could reveal itself in his mind. He was moving his head around to try and grasp the situation at hand, but only darkness was clouding his vision.

But wait... No... He could see something. Two figures, in fact, standing a ways from where he lay. One figure was immediately recognizable by his face. It was his father, Isshin Kurosaki... but there was something odd. He was not wearing the white jacket of a doctor or the informal clothing of various colors he wore around the household... He was clad in black. Only black clothing. And holding something that resembled a sword.

This was a confusing sight, but the second figure shocked the young child. It was nothing even close to that of human... If anything, it could be called a monster. A monster... wearing a white-as-bones mask over what could be considered its face. And yet... despite this grotesque form, something was oddly familiar to the young child. As if he could sense something about this beast... Without even being able to ascertain the situation, the only word that could come out of his mouth was...

"Mommy...?"

God of Death
The sounds of blades clashing rung through the air.

The teenage Ichigo landed on his feet, as did his father Isshin a few meters away. Both were clad in similar robes of black, each of them carrying a katana of similar form.

"That was good, Ichigo. Excellent form." Isshin remarked, assuming another stance with bent legs.

"Tch... What do you expect, old man? It's not like it's hard." Ichigo responded, bearing a look of aggression in his eyes.

"If that's so... let's see your Shikai execution. Now." Isshin stated, preparing for another charge.

Ichigo swung his blade down. "Retreat and you will age... Hesitate and you will die... Zangetsu!" he roared, the once-nimble katana transforming into a massive cleaver-like blade with bandages covering the hilt. As Isshin came close, Ichigo blocked the attack with a one-handed sword block, almost effortlessly, as he brushed off the older man's attack. "Just a joke." the orange-haired teen spoke, thrusting forward as he aimed to crush down on Isshin.

But Isshin managed to block the sword swing, only for Ichigo's right leg to fling upwards, finding the sole right on Isshin's stomach as it pushed him back, creating distance. Just as Isshin was off-guard, Ichigo swung his sword down. As this occured, spiritual energy resonated around the blade. "Getsuga... Tenshō!" This energy exploded from the blade, crashing into Isshin with a thunderous roar of spiritual discharge.

Despite the intensity of the attack, Isshin held his guard up and maintained his composure, despite having a slightly charred appearance. But Ichigo wasn't done. His assault continued. "...Tenshō! Tenshō!" he shouted, firing two more of those energy discharge waves from the blade's tip, both of which crashed into Isshin. The smoke would clear, as Isshin was shown to be panting from the attack. Ichigo then held the blade's sharp edge up to Isshin's neck, as if he was ready to kill the man. But instead, spoke. "How was that... old man? Excellent enough for you?" he mused, withdrawing the blade as it returned to its standard katana form, being sheathed back into the sheath on Ichigo's back.

Isshin slowly panted a bit more, slowly regaining consistency in his breathing as he stood up tall, sheathing away his own blade. "...Yeah... It was good. Now... I guess, go get cleaned up so we can have dinner before I have to leave for work." he stated.

"Whatever." responded Ichigo, as he opened the door exiting the training hall, a tone of resentment in the teen's voice.


 * END