The Okuhami Arc [Act 1]

This world is a vast place, a place where we stumble like children taking their first steps. It presents itself as a colorful tessellation where we learn to see; our greedy eyes attempting to take in as much light, love, detail and color as they possibly can. It is a whisper that reveals itself in the smallest of ways. Appearing in the wind as it reaches the trees, the ocean as it touches the shoreline, the animals burrowing into the earth as humans look up at sympathetic stars; hoping for a deeper understanding of their place in this world. It cries out to us in every storm that turns violent, in the way the sea whips up powerful waves, when people crowd into cities and dare to venture into untouched forests. What right does anyone have to carry their desperate mouths up mountains or cross deserts? Do we want to taste the rock or sand? Do we expect to write impossible poems from space and silence? 
 
The boundless reaches of the world remind us just how minuscule we are and how much we don't yet understand. We are all children in this existence and if we never learn to play nicely, only darkness awaits us. The darkness that now enshrined Kizen's soul, his body desperately clinging to life along the shores of Okuhami. His heartbeat moves at a slow and imperceptible pace, his body holds onto the hope that someone will come yank him free from death's grasp. Gentle hands form a warm verdant orb, waving it over his wounds. The power of the light washes over him slowly, moving over the wound as the sun washes over the landscape; rising in the morning sky. 
 
The sounds of a heart fill his eardrums, beating in sync with water racing along the riverbed. The low hum of healing energy flows into him stirs him awake, his eyes open slowly to find a woman attending to his medical needs. Her eyes, much like her hair are a fulsome shade of maroon. Her face, hangs over her body, offering a watchful eye as she performs a healing technique on his wounds.  "Wh...where am I?" his throat was sore, the strain caused his voice sound hoarse. The pain resonates in his chest and rises upwards, causing him to gasp for air; his lungs had not fully been restored to their full potential. The pain is enough to push him back into an unconscious state. Scattered thoughts reach forward into the nether, grasping for a sign that his zanpakuto is there. His eyelids close over causing time to appear at a stand-still for a brief moment. The stream flowing along the embankment begins to slow to a halt, the glowing hum of healing energies surge above him. 'Are you out there? Are you okay?' A small glossy white form glides down the river, moving through the water with grace and poise; the entire world stands still in her presence. 
 
'Y.e...s.' Her voice is faint, the message sounding akin to a radio that was not properly tuned to the right station. "I.. .I...am... ... ... Da....ed.." her voice repeatedly fades out, the damage to her core appears extensive. "Da...maged. ne...ed....ti..time...to....repair". She'd been cracked in half, the result of an attack from Akikazu's Bankai. 'Bankai' he thought, the concept had always been out of his reach. He'd always been so afraid to grasp the power without truly understanding the gift it was. Fear had always been the primary motivator for his alienation. It kept him from forming connections, from trusting another person with his life; it had kept him alive all these years. It was time to cast off that fear and find the truth.
 
Akikazu had made a fatal mistake this day, he'd shown Kizen the full extent of his power. He made the mistake of taking everything away from Kizen, starting with his family to his home; then his name. You only have power over someone until you taken away everything that matters to them. Once you've been foolish enough to do that, they're no longer under your control -- they're free again. 

'Take the time you need to repair yourself, when you're ready I will come to you and we will discuss our future' his mind calls out to the glossy white form, its fuzzy depiction taking the form of an illuminated swan. Never bothering to respond, she simply turns away and moves down the river till she fades out of sight. Time returns to its normal pace, his eyelids flutter and open slowly to meet his savior. He looks up at her, his deep ocean blue eyes meeting with hers before he opens his mouth only to ask a few important questions.

"Who are you?" He winces for a moment, letting her finish her job. "Why are you out here? I've been tracking a signature to this area for a while now....Someone powerful lives out here. I need their help or I won't survive the next meeting I have with who attacked me."

[WC 852/50]

[GP 17/45]

No one special? That's often the response of someone who is either humble or hiding something. His wounds had slowly healed over the time he'd been unconscious. This kind woman had provided him with dedicated healing during the critical stages of his injuries. His zanpakuto however was snapped in half; she moved the handle over his chest for him to take. Dropping it into his hands, he grasps the blade handle between his fingertips, flicking the switch to release her into a formless state. The crystal matrix sparks and shatters with a faint hum, the blade itself fizzling and slipping into an unstable light form that struggles to move in the air. His eyes close for a moment, willing its form into something small and compact - a ball! The miniature ball hums and burns out into a soft glass-like form in his hand. The pain, his zanpakuto feels, is experienced through a form of emotional transference; the risk she took saving him was enough to destroy her. 
 
 She had been trying to guide him away from this experience, away from a position of risk. He refused to heed her warnings, he refused to listen to her advice, he almost lost his life today; as well as the only thing that he had in life that mattered. The worst result of this event was that it left him broken, not in the physical sense - in an emotional sense. The walls that had been cleverly built up within the core of his soul, the pillars that held his mind in loftier places, the foundation of Kizens being was shattered under the weight of the damage he and his zanpakuto had sustained in this event. His fingers tense around the ball, the folly of his decisions held in the palm of his hands. Why would she save him? She could have been found, perhaps wielded by someone better than him? The feelings welling up within him left him confused, he'd never learned how to properly experience these emotions. She had been keeping things from him all this time; what he thought as control was really her in his ear all along. 
 
 The confidence he'd always believed came naturally was nothing more than an illusion she had devised to protect him. He'd been so blind to it, and she had played her part well. She'd kept him on a looped track, trying to guide him away from this; believing that was the best course for him at this moment. He always claimed he was ready and didn't want to be held back anymore. He was wrong, he'd been wrong in every decision he'd made in his life. The decisions that lead to this point were his and his alone, she had no fault in all of this. He usually would have blamed her, but something was different. His brow furrows as he holds the ball in his fingertips, bringing it level with his eyes. His lips move and mouth a small apology to the blade before his focus returns to his savior. 
 
"If you're the strongest in the forest, then you are definitely the one I have been looking for. I've been hunted most of my life by people like that, they're going to continue hunting me until I'm dead. They are not going to come back, but that doesn't mean they will give up just because you are here. They will simply wait till I return to soul society or go out on patrol. People like that monster don't stop because you ask."
 
He forces himself up, moving the ball into his inner breast pocket to slowly recover. Taking in a deep breath, he double checks that his injuries were repaired without issue. Laying his arms forward, he sets himself into a bowing position. If she is as strong as she claims, strong enough to scare off his attacker - she could guide him to the power he's repressed. 
 
"Thank you for saving me, I'm sure whatever reason you are doing this far out is a good one. People that come this far out of reach, usually don't want to be found. I have to be honest, I'm not a kind person. I've done horrible things to survive, I've killed my own kind." He pauses for a moment, catching his breath before continuing.
 
"The only reason I was pardoned was circumstance, the people I killed were supporting my captain. She defected from our ranks and killed most of the Kidoshou. Only a few of us survived, I was captured shortly after and tortured by humans wanting revenge on our kind for the sins of my captain. If Captain Aizawa hadn't saved me, I'd be dead right now." He takes another pause, gauging her reaction.
 
"The arrancar have taken someone I consider a friend from Kakura, along with a few other spiritually sensitive humans. There is an effort being carried out by a few humans and the Shinigami, they want to rescue the hostages. I'm not strong enough to protect anyone right now, I can't even protect myself. My attacker almost killed me because he was able to unleash his Bankai, I need to access my Bankai. I don't know how or even where to begin. The captains haven't the time, nor the care to spend time training me. I believe you can help me though, it is why I came out here to find you instead of staying behind. I need your help. I'm tired of my blade telling me what is best for me, I want to make the right decision for once and stand beside her instead of behind her" letting his eyes fall down to the ground, he waits for her reply with high hopes she will accept his request.

[WC 962/50]

[GP 19/64]
 

She didn't know? He'd assumed she may have heard of the events that took place in Kakura that day. The heat that filled her eyes was comparative to the core of a burning sun. Her response in regards to his Bankai was the desired one - her request to know the name of his former captain was unexpected - and it almost seemed personal. Her request and tone, even when restrained was articulated with small frills of sharp controlled anger. Why would someone this powerful be hiding out here in isolation? Had she committed some crime? Words spilled from his lips like water pouring from a fountain.
 
"Her name? Sakamoto Miki. She merged the Kido Corps with the fourth division shortly after Captain Karahashi disappeared from the hospital. We've had a few returns recently as well. Eon Shikimori was one of the first to reappear, he walked right through the Senkaimon. Claimed he'd been held hostage for a long period of time. When I last saw him he was being headed to the first-division office to debriefed by the Captain Commander, Kenshou Ine. The second one to appear was Allessandra Aizawa, I found her severely wounded outside the estate. I haven't seen her since the Humans invaded soul society, they came to discuss a truce and a possible joint venture into the hollow realm"
 
Struggling to stand, he calmly forced himself upwards into a standing position. Dusting off the dirt from his coat, he continued explaining the events that took place over the following months. Making sure to be as detailed as possible in his explanation, leaving no aspects of events out of mention.
 
"She betrayed the Gotei Six, torturing a few key members of the division before killing a large portion of the Kido Corps. I personally came into contact with the human she tortured, Evan Jackson. I'd like to think he may have been a good man before she got into his head, sadly, I will never know that man. He turned on his own people and became a monster - he could have been a monster all along - or he could have just been so far gone that becoming a monster was the only way he could cope with what was done to him. Regardless, he turned on his own men and tortured me for a while. She twisted that man's mind into a fragmented state, tortured countless fellow Shinigami and then unleashed a massive explosion that leveled Kakura. The city is a crater, thousands of souls were eradicated; the damage that was dealt to the stream of healthy souls was extensive. It may take over a hundred years to replenish the souls lost that day."
 
Letting out a loud sigh; not enjoying the topic of conversation, he continued his tale. The memories of being tortured; separated from his Zanpakuto for an extended period of time and treated like an animal will always carry a deep pain with it. Still, the story had to be told. She had to know the truth, even if it wasn't all that great. 
 
"A lot of humans were taken during this event, I was captured shortly after the event and detained by the humans. My time in their captivity was short lived, it only took the fourth division a few weeks to find me. I was saved by Captain Aizawa, he vouched for my loyalty and I was transferred to his division. To my knowledge, only two other people survived...Lieutenant Fujikagi and a man named Ezekiel; I have not spoken with either of them in length. That's about all I really can tell you on the subject." 
 
He steps forward, hoping that his answers were of any use to this woman. The next course of action was to introduce himself, thank her graciously for saving his life and hope for the best. There was a lot of mystery surrounding her identity, hopefully she wasn't a traitor or an assassin. 
 
"I'm Kizen, the last surviving heir of the Haetora family. The person who was chasing me is an assassin that considers me the last name on a long list of people they have murdered. I don't wanna end up crossed off that list, not before I make things right. I have to clear my family name, I also have to serve my duty and rescue a human that I consider a friend. I am wholeheartedly loyal the soul society, I will do whatever it takes to set the balance right within myself and then the world. If I have to take a Shinigami life, I will. If I have to sacrifice my own life for the safety of my fellow Shinigami or a human; I will.  I am ready to do whatever is required of me to attain this power, even if I have to face things I've never been willing to see."
 
Bowing politely, he keeps his eyes on her and shows her the respect a student should always show a master. This was the choice he'd been searching for, the one that all other choices in life would be defined by.
 
[WC 853/50]
[GP  17/81]