Post by sammy on May 27, 2011 21:28:43 GMT -5
Tooth and Nails
Written by Hitsugaya
Prologue: Reign of Blood
"Mia where are you!" a young man shouted as he ran desperately through the burning village. Every corner he turned, he saw the dirt path littered with corpses, and armoured men with swords and axes, letting out a collective demented laugh. The boy rounded another corner, and nearly ran into one of armoured men. He backed away slowly, and glanced around searching for something to defend himself with. As he looked, his eyes fell on the corpse of a girl who looked about his age. His eyes widened in horror, and he whispered hoarsely, "Mia…" while reaching out his hand as if he could reach her corpse. The solider raised his sword blade and swung, and the young man didn't even notice as his head was separated from hi shoulders, blood spraying from the stump of his neck.
Azerik sat up instantly in his bed, sweat pouring from his head. His breathing was laboured, and he gripped his chest, fighting down the panic. "It's just a nightmare," he told himself out loud, "just that same stupid dream…about that same stupid night…"
Wiping the sweat from his face, he got out of bet with a sigh, and walked to the wash room. He turned the tap for the cold water, and held his hand under the stream so that water pooled in the centre. When his hands could hold no more water, he splashed it onto his face and rubbed the sand from his eyes. Walking out of the room now, he walked out onto the balcony, and stared down the dark street. He was still in Karakura town, and he was still in his Gigai, and there were still no Hollows to report.
Somehow, being the only Shinigami in 12th Division with a Zanpaktou that was meant for battle had landed him on a mission with a bunch of 11th Division nut jobs. There was a reported attack on Human souls in Karakura town by the Arrancar, but so far this was looking as if it was a false alarm. The mission team had been there for 6 days now, and still no sign of activity.
"Lieutenant," Azerik shouted back into the apartment, "I'm going out on patrol, I need some fresh air!" There was a mumbled reply from the room next to his own, and Azerik pulled off his Gigai and leaped off into the night. He jumped from roof to roof, until he made it to a grassy hill next to a river. Pulling his sword and sheath out from the belt of his Shihakushou, Azerik lay down on the hill, and looked up at the stars.
It had been well over 100 years since he had last been in the World of the Living, and now it was utterly alien to him. For close to 200 years, he had lived in the Soul Society, which was experiencing the aftermath of a long war that had been going on, since before his own birth. Many had died in the war, but still others survived to pass on their view of what had happened. By listening and doing research, Azerik had learned much of what had happened, but much of what he knew lacked finality, forcing him to put the pieces of the puzzle together on his own. However, out of all that he had learned, one thing remained consistent with each survivors account. It all started with a rebellion…the rebellion of the Blood King and his Onigami.
The name of the original Blood King remains unknown, kept secret by the higher echelons of the Soul Society, but we know that he was once Captain of Zero Division, otherwise known as the Royal Guard. The nameless Blood King sought to marry into a noble family, far above his own class, but was denied by the Spirit Kind and his court. Enraged by this, the Blood King began to tell stories of corruption in the Royal Family, and in Soul Society. He gained followers, and soon, the Shinigami were split between those who remained loyal to the Royal Family, and those who followed the Blood King.
Inevitably, war broke out in Soul Society. The Blood King and his followers planned to assassinate the noble families of Soul Society, and acted quickly. In the early stages of the rebellion, the remaining Zero Division members, along with then 7th Division Captain Kamui Shirokawa, discovered the intent of the Blood King and his followers, and acted to prevent the deaths of as many nobles as possible, saving 4 of the 10 major families that were being targeted. News spread quickly of both the successful and failed assassinations, and Soul Society was put on high alert. The traitors went into hiding, but the blood shed did not stop. Many of the Shinigami, who had not defected to join the Blood King, found that they shared certain ideals with the rebel and his followers. Friends and family warred among themselves, and Soul Society's men were split once again, as more people joined the cause of the Blood King. War started again, but the rebels soon retreated, leaving no traces other than the corpses of the slain. No one could find where they had hidden themselves, and they assumed they had fled to the World of the Living. It was later discovered that, while it was not the World of the Living they had fled to, it was indeed another realm. The rebels, who became known infamously as the Onigami, had created an entirely new realm and there they created an Empire and a town, becoming a complete shadow of the Soul Society.
Months later, the Onigami-the name embraced by the traitors-sent a message to the Shinigami, in the form of a note, carved into the corpse of a 1st Division member, at the door of the Commander General: The Onigami are coming for the head of every Royal … A week later, the Onigami invaded, under the banner of the Blood King. As the war restarted, yet more Shinigami joined the ranks of the Onigami, Captains numbering among the newly turned. The war moved into the other realms, including the Seirei Realm, home of the Onigami. Countless numbers of people died; the tactics and strategy of the Blood King proving too great for the Gotei 13 to handle. They needed more power…power that the Quincy offered.
With a common enemy, the Quincy and the Shinigami joined forces, attacking the Onigami as a single force. The tactics of the spiritual archers proved to be a thorn in the side of the Blood King's forces, and the tide of the war was turned in the favour of Soul Society. Things could not last however. When the upper echelons of Soul Society saw how the methods of the Quincy upset the balance of the world, they ordered that the Quincy be exterminated along with the Onigami. In a battle that would come to be known as "the Battle of Crossing", which took place on a large bridge in Japan, the Shinigami turned on the Quincy, and a war that had once been waged on two sides, was suddenly fought on three.
From here, the formalities of war were all but gone, and nothing but bitter battle waged. At the end of the Battle of Crossing, the Onigami took a large number of Shinigami captive, and decided to use them as a bargaining chip. However, to their surprise, a team of 11th Division members, led by their Captain, Hasaki Ryo, who would one day be known as "the Wildfire", made a charge on the Onigami in an attempt to rescue their comrades. Ryo and his men did major damage to the Onigami forces, but only managed to rescue 40 of the captured Shinigami.
In the after math of the war, the Commander General-then Kuriyami Ryuu-and the Blood King met on neutral ground, and signed the "Non-Aggression Act", formally ending what would henceforth be known to those ware of its existence as "The Great War". It was 25 years before the end of all this blood shed when I was born, and it was nearly 18 years later that I would die. 7 years of war remained when I entered the Soul Society.