Exposition Into the Unknown

This article, , is a side-story entry in Bleach: The Coven War, and is the sequel to First Steps Into the Unknown. It follows Hotaru Hiroshi as the main character.

Hotaru stood before a mirror with shaving foam clinging to his chin and cheeks. As he glided his razor down his cheek he winced slightly and blood soon began to trickle. The sight triggered more doubts in the young man and not for the first time Hotaru found himself questioning the decisions that had brought him to where he now stood. Yet there was a little voice inside that always managed to answer him:

It is for your family.

If only such quick reasoning could help him sleep at night. For his dreams always brought him back to one singular moment.

''At Hotaru's feet lay the broken body of a young female who had once been a member of this world's Kidō Corps. Her brown hair had been dyed red from her own blood. Her death, Hotaru reasoned, was necessary; not only had she gotten wind of what the Kidō Corps planned to do, but she had also determined that Hotaru and his brother Akira where not inhabitants of this world.''

And that was something he could not allow to come to light.

"Would you really... lay one world to ruin... just to return to your own?"

''The question struck at the core of Hotaru's convictions. Of course he wanted to return to his own world! Lisa, Kentaro, Shinrei and Kay needed him. What use was he to them stuck here!? The fate of this new world meant nothing to him. And yet he found himself hesitating!?''

"I see... your doubt. Your hesitation. The destruction... the chaos. It isn't in you to cause that."

He was silent.

''"Your silence betrays you." She whispered. It was clear she was close to the end. Every word she spoke took considerable effort, and her brow was slicked with sweat. Considering her wounds it was a miracle she was breathing at all. "You haven't... got it in you."''

''"... You underestimate my rage." He answered calmly; certainly more calm than he felt. "My world is on the brink, and my loved ones at risk. I'll do anything to save them."''

''"Then I guess... you have two paths." Her voice was a mere whisper now. "You'll be a beacon... or you'll plunge us into darkness. So beware... your anger. It could just as quickly... strangle the memory of your loved ones..."''

She spoke no more and her breathe was coming slower than before.

Hotaru finally found his voice.

"It isn't what I want but I'll be a creature of darkness to see my goals reached, if that is what it takes. My actions won't inspire hope, but what I do will be for the greater good. Maybe others will find the light in my actions. You see... I'm a son of Kenji and Ino. Straddling good and evil is what I was born to do."

He finished his shave and looked at his face in the mirror and there he saw the faces of his parents and siblings reflected back at him. Ino was disappointed yet the expression worn by Kenji was unreadable. The little half-smile that Hotaru so remembered his father wearing was all that he saw. Kentaro and Shinrei wore furrowed brows as usual but Lisa and Kay smiled at him.

"... I will see you all again."

And the promise was made in the blood trickling from his cheek.

End.