Pedestals

Summary: It was a completely unfounded and totally random accusation…and yet it through the whole of Seireitei inside out. Secrets. Sedition. Scars.

AN: I’m aiming for this to be a simple 14-15 story. POV will change each chapter with only the prologue and epilogue in the main character’s POV. I’m not expecting to many reviews since no one seems to remember how anymore, but if you’re feeling up to it, please rate. Takes place roughly one year previous to series start.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, its characters or affiliates. I do not make any profits from this story. These characters are rightful property of Tite Kubo and Co. with the exception of my OC’s which you should be able to identify easily.

Prologue: Pedestals That Crumble

I focused happily on my kata, my memorized series of movements I was to be tested on come next year. I knew instinctually that I had my trademark goofy smile ‘plastered across my face’, as my best friend and Academy classmate, Ayame-chan always put it. ‘I’ve never seen anyone get so deliriously pleased at having their ass handed to them every morning’, she’d snipe in a sisterly fashion. While it was true, Ayame was quite superior to me, her roommate and best friend, I never cared. I was excited to learn, even if it meant more than my fair share of bumps and bruises. Apparently, my seemingly unending enthusiasm so early at sparring practice irritated more than just Ayame-chan. I didn’t care though. I never did. I’d just pop back up off the wooden ground of the polished dojo floors and smile my signature smile, albeit bloody, and my opponent would usually just shake their heads before ruffling my long wavy hair. ‘Better luck next time’, some would say. Ayame-chan and the various boys she dated, bringing over to our dorm even though we weren’t supposed to, all called me ‘Pinku-chan’ on account of my unusual shade of cotton candy hair. I was their mascot, they claimed affectionately. The spirit of class 797. I had friends who adored me and one day, not too far away, I was finally going to graduate and become a real life Shinigami.

Which was why I was practicing so late, I reminded myself. Well, that and the fact the Ayame-chan had brought her latest boyfriend over. I giggled in admiration at her skill in manhunting, almost giving a false step in my kata. I wanted to not only pass my examination, I wanted to be impressive and graceful, just like Ayame-chan. I was the last one left in class 797 who had yet to learn their zanpakutou’s name. I tried hard, I did. I listened and meditated just like Ayame-chan coached. Still nothing, much to my and my instructors disappointment.

I’d always known that I was rather diminutive standing next to my gorgeous roomie. Ayame-chan was all geisha straight black hair, pale and elegant skin, and legs that seemed to go on for days. I was barely chest level with my best friend and had nowhere near the womanly curves she did. I was what my defense instructor had labeled a ‘ballerina body’. Not only was I small on top of having a boyishly athletic figure, but I wasn’t dense at all. If I got hit in a fight I literally flew across the floor. A few of the older girls in class had taken to hoisting me up by the waist in one arm to take me to the medical office whenever a beating got too rough. I didn’t mind too much, though. I could handle the challenge!

“Kiah!” I shouted into the darkened space of the dojo. My kata was finished and near perfect if I did say so myself. The sound of clapping startled me badly enough that I jumped. Whirling around I froze at whom I found standing in the doorway. Even in the dark of the night the billowing white coat, silhouetted by the moon that peered through the open doorway, left no room for error. “Taicho-sama!” I squeaked, falling to my knees and bowing low in what I hoped would be an appropriate gesture of welcome. “Please forgive me if I woke you. I forget how loud the dojo can be when one’s alone.” Crap! My mind reeled. All the taichos and fukutaichos had been on campus today. It was an opportunity for the up and coming graduating class, my class, to make their presence known. It was almost like a festival of skill or a tournament. Students could sign up for any activity they wanted to show off; swordsmanship, hand to hand, kata, or kidou were all available. The tournament had run incredibly late and many of the taichos and fukutaichos had opted to spend the night on campus since the tournaments would be continuing tomorrow.

“Keh,” Taicho-sama shrugged. “As if I need my beauty sleep. ‘Sides, this dojo’s always been fairly secluded from the rest of the school.”

“Did Taicho-sama need the dojo?” Was I keeping a shinigami captain from training? I prayed not.

“I was in need of some stress relief. So, yeah, it crossed my mind,” Taicho-sama pushed away from the doorframe. “But I’m much more pleased with the company I’ve stumbled upon. What’s yer name, pinky?”

“Koizume Kiku, Taicho-sama.” I blushed as the imposing and powerful figure kneeled down before me.

“Mah mah,” Taicho-sama tsked. “Even named after a flower. I suppose with hair like that you never stood a chance, eh, Kiku-chan?” Taicho-sama lifted a hand before I could reply and capture a long lock of pink. I blushed as Taicho-sama leaned in to sniff the wavy strands. “You even smell like a flower.” Was that even appropriate? I didn’t think so.

“A-arigato.” I stuttered nervously. A strange feeling began to creep over me. A hanging cloud of, dare I say, dread? “Taicho-sama,” I began uneasily, frowning as the captain’s reiatsu began to press into me, limiting my faculties. “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Absolutely,” Taicho-sama all but purred, leaning in farther. “I want to see if you taste like a flower.” A hard mouth slanted over mine, sealing away any protest. Instinctually, I raised a hand to strike but I faltered, allowing my wrist to become captured along with its twin. Was I even allowed to hit a taicho? Panic thrummed through me, heavily as my hands were bound with a sudden flare of kidou I didn’t recognize.

“No, please!” I pleaded as my uniform was torn open with a single savage heave of hands. My small and sensitive breasts pebbled in the frigid autumn air. “Please, I don’t want this!”

“But I do.” Taicho-sama sneered. “Stop whimpering like a little bitch and you might enjoy it, Kiku-chan.”

“Hel-” A sharp pain hitched my cry for a savior before it was even finished. I stared down in shock at the foreign object protruding from my chest. It was only the tip, but still…Taicho-sama’s zanpakutou twisted sharply and I cried out, a floodgate of tears opening.

“Ah ah ah,” Taicho-sama tsked, removing the blade. “Another little outburst like that and I’ll make it count. Also, I think it goes without saying but, tell anyone and I’ll kill you.” Red, darker than I remembered my blood ever being, oozed from my wound and dribbled to the floor as I was flipped to my stomach. My cheek hit the hard floor with an audible crack and pain blossomed in my nose. I trembled violently as my pants were sliced away and my hips raised, exposing me to the world. I screamed then, as something foreign and hard tore its way inside me, piercing through the fragile membrane of flesh I possessed. Taicho-sama ground against me, panting in my ear, nails digging into my hips. “Ooh, you like that, Kiku-chan? I think you do. That’s good because I’m just getting started.” The last three words of Taicho-sama’s sentence were punctuated with a harsh thrust.

“Kiku-san.” A voice called to me as the terrible thrusting continued, warm, metallic wetness dripping down my naked thighs. “Come away.” The voice was quiet and familiar in a strange way. “Come away from this place.” The voice insisted, louder this time. My attacker continued on, non-pulsed as if there were no sound. My surroundings began to blur replaced with what looked like a tropical setting. “That’s it. That’s my girl. Come to me. Leave this ugliness. You’re safe with me.” Hands, gentle and kind, traced patterns on my back as I lay next to what seemed a natural hot spring.

“Who are you?” I asked the man who stroked me so lovingly as I sat up. Here I was fully clothed in silken robes than shone, not naked and violated.

“My name is Kinyuusha.” He was incredibly handsome with a young gentle face and positively golden hair.

“Kinyuusha?” I repeated in wonderment.

“Ah, good.” He smiled. “You heard me this time. I’m sorry it took me so long to find you, Kiku-san, but your inner world is quite challenging.” A sorrowful look came over his face then as the sound of a girl crying reached our ears. “I’m afraid its only going to become more treacherous.”

“Who was that crying?” I asked, looking around.

“You, Kiku-san. You’re crying.” Kinyuusha whispered quietly. Tropical birds chirped sharply in the background and random forest life scurried around us.

“How can you tell?” I felt slightly dazed, patting my cheeks and searching for wetness. My hands came away dry.

“Because it’s nighttime.” Kinyuusha frowned. “The sun always shines here. But, it’s not shining now.”

“Will it ever shine again?” I felt my lip tremble and Kinyuusha gathered me into his arms.

“I don’t know, Kiku-san. I just don’t know…”

AN: Well…Who do you think the sick fuck was? We’ll find out through later chapters.