Akira Hiroshi's Journal

Akira Hiroshi was known to keep a monthly journal documenting his time in the alongside Ashido Kanō.

October

 * October 31st, 2003.


 * I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I thought it was a good idea to cart my arse to Hueco Mundo and beg Ashido for help. The guy's got a fundamental screw loose! Who in their right mind looks at a plant growing in Hueco Mundo and goes "yum"!? "" he calls it. And don't get me started on the meat! I'm terrified to ask him if its really Hollow or not. At this point I'm happy believing there's a butcher down here who gets his supplies from the Human World.


 * And they say ignorance is bliss! Soul King help me.

November

 * November 30th, 2003.


 * Trying to draw conversation out of Ashido is like trying to draw blood from a stone. You'd think I'd know how having trained under what's essentially the guy's goddamned twin! But he just sits there tinkering with his Kidō lights, or making juices and blends (I honestly don't know what he does to make them edible) from that foul snow grass stuff he collects. And did I mention he's reaaaally quiet?


 * I don't think he trusts me all that much.

December

 * December 25th, 2003.


 * This was my first Christmas away from my family and friends. I tried to jazz the hideout up a bit this month, like really make an effort. I cut down one of those rock-like trees -- the Menos, apparently, don't like that. Ashido had to pull my ass from the fire again. When we got back that day I hung a few of Ashido's lights from it and decorated it all with foul grass. It actually looked almost like a Christmas tree. I swear even Ashido smiled a little!


 * I think I'm starting to win him over. He's still quiet, except when he's directing me in battle, but I guess I made some progress. The proof was in the present. Ashido got me a fur cloak just like his!!

February

 * 18th February, 2005.


 * We ran into something unexpected today: an Arrancar. I thought they usually stayed either in Las Noches or wandered the sands above? Shows you how much I don't know I suppose. This guy -- the Arrancar -- was strong. I probably wouldn't have survived if Ashido hadn't been with me. He didn't say who he was but we obviously stumbled into his territory, but what I found odd is that he allowed us to leave when Ashido said we where drawing unwanted attention and that it was a bad idea for things to escalate further. For the first time since coming here our roles got flipped on their head and I got to try my hand at teaching. Let's just say that Ashido knows a great deal about Arrancar now (he called our red-haired adversary a Vasto-Lorde).


 * New goal now. If I can't beat that Arrancar then I have no chance of stopping my brother. I've already ran this past Ashido and he's agreed to up the ante of my training. We start in earnest tomorrow.

May

 * 26th May, 2005.


 * May's not out yet but I had to get this down when it was still fresh. We ran into our old Arrancar friend from a couple months back today. He was fighting but not with other Hollow. He was surrounded by Quincy! I remember my dad's old war stories from when he fought against the Quincy during the Blood War and these Quincy where decked out just like them! Our Arrancar -- he's called Gundinger Drelairn -- was outnumbered and I was shocked when Ashido stepped in to help! Here we where, back-to-back with a scarlet-haired Arrancar, killing Quincy. Gundinger called them "Soldat" and likened them to foot soldiers. As "thanks" Gundinger "allowed" us to leave. I asked Ashido about why he stepped in afterwards and his answer was surprisingly rational. Between Quincy and Hollow he reckoned that Quincy posed a greater danger to the Cycle of Souls than Hollow, and so he stepped in to stop the Quincy. Even if it meant helping the very enemy he had sworn to combat centuries ago and killing Humans instead.


 * I finally understand why my father respected Ashido so much. As far as duty and commitment goes there's quite a few Captains I've met who could learn a great deal from him. It's amazing. I trained under one Ashido but I can honestly say I barely knew him. I'm glad I got this chance to rectify that.

January

 * January 1st, 2019.


 * This will be my last entry. Reading back through some of them I realise why Ashido thought me naive and childish when he first met me. No wonder I lost to Hotaru. Thankfully I've done some growing up since then. Sixteen years in hell will do that to you.


 * To anyone reading this: Akira Hiroshi was reborn here.

Behind the scenes

 * Rather than posting a series of individual chapters from the perspectives of Akira and Ashido, I decided instead to document the years Akira spent in the Forest of Menos a little differently and experiment a bit.

Trivia

 * The time-frame of the entries are set between the 9th Division Assault arc of Renascence Beginning and the opening chapters of Bleach Renascence. This puts it between 2003 and 2019.