BLEACH: The Dusk In Red

Kai dashed at him, he wasn't physically fit enough to be able to use flash step so he had no choice but to rely on his base agility.

He leaped into the air and tried to hit Akimitsu with a vertical line, only for it to be easily deflected by his right gauntlet. Even with this set back, Kai continued to swing his sword only for it to either be parried or countered.

"DO IT NOW!"

Suddenly Linny's pink scarf wrapped around Akimitsu's left arm, temporarily restraining it and making it unusable. Kai using the opportunity continued to occupy his right hand, leaving him open.

"What's the point of this? If you restrain me from both ways none of you can attack me."

Kai smirked at him, once he grabbed he let go of his sword and grabbed him by the head suddenly.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"

The out of control attack, exploded immediately. Damaging both Kai and Akimitsu as they were engulfed in a cloud of ash and red energy. Kai was blown back along with his sword, with both of his hands being heavily injured.

"Kai!?", Linny screamed.

He struggled to stand and even more so with picking up his sword, but he was mostly fine. Linny withdrew her scarf and hurried to help him up.

Once the dust cloud cleared, Akimitsu stood there unfazed by the attack. He was bleeding from his head, but he didn't any visible expression of pain or un-comfort.

"Somethings wrong.", Kai thought. "Something is really wrong."

Akimitsu had the spiritual pressure equal to a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13, and Kai's wasn't even enough to become a seated member but rather just the bare minimum. So it was strange that his attack did as much damage as it did.

He then slowly started to raise his left hand, noticing Kia's panic.

"You're probably wondering how your attack did so much damage. The answer is simple really. I let you hurt me."

He reeled it back in as he prepared to throw a serious punch. In a single instance, what felt like a deadly amount of Spiritual Pressure began to condense in his fist.

"LINNY!"

Once he unleashed his punch, a wave of a giant Red Reiatsu charged towards the two. Engulfing them in its rage and animosity. And explosion rang out, signifying their deaths.

...

Akimitsu had a strange childhood. He lived in a rural part of Japan with his mother and father, next to a lake in a small wooden cabin. Because of where he lived, he didn't go to school and didn't have any friends his age, but would instead be trained in the ways survival.

Every now and then his father would leave the mountain for days at a time, for unknown reasons. He would never specify where he went or why he needed to go, but every time he did, he could sense this fear coming from him.

And then one day...

June 19th, 20031

He handed a heavy cardboard box to the now 15 year old who opened it with excitement. Once he did, he was met with a pair of red gauntlets with iron braces on them.

"What are these? Fighting gloves?"

Suddenly he hugged him as he got down on one knee. The shadow from his hat hid his face, but if there was something that was very obvious, it were the tears that fell from his eyes.

"I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry..."

After that he wouldn't return back home ever again. And just like that half a year passed by.

He buried his mothers corpse with his own hands and shovel in front of the lake. Facing the spot where she often would. Before leaving he would make sure to burn the cabin along with everything inside, creating a hole of emptiness in himself.

Once he arrived to Karakura town, he would try to fill that hole by fighting with the gauntlets his dad gave him. He would make money by participating in underground illegal fight tournaments where he would make money and survive in the city.

But even the passion of battle couldn't fill it.

Eventually he would discover he had a strange power, or rather an affinity for his gloves. Maybe it was because he got into fights more often, or maybe it's because he was surrounded by more hollows than before, but eventually he discovered the power of Fullbring.

After winning one of his fights, he was approached by an incredibly beautiful young woman, with short black hair which is longer on her left side. She wore a black business-style suit with a white scarf around her neck. It was love at first sight one could say.

"And you are?"

She handed him a black card with the words Xcution engraved in a small corner.

"Aura Michibane. Would you be interested in our Organization?"

"And what would I get out of that?"

She smiled before seemingly leaning in to Akimitsu for a hug. His face turned red with embarrassment before turning purple with shock as she phased through him as if he was a ghost.

"What the hell? What kind of powers are these?"

"These are my miracles, you have powers like these too don't you? There are other people that can also perform miracles in my group as well."

Taking a deep interest in this group, Akimitsu thought why not? Mabye the thing that could fill him would be found there? And that he was partially correct. He met Liliane and the others, and they all worked together to expand the XCUTION religious organization.

Eventually he would find out that Aura was keeping secrets from him, but this he didn't mind. And then one day...

"Where are you going?"

"To a place far beyond this one. To the place which will foster a new king."

"New king? What? Are you leaving me too? After everything? What am I supposed to do?"

She was unable to respond. She disappeared and never returned, just like his father. He was left behind with the remains of the group, him, Liliane, Finger and Bruno. Fullbringers from all over the world without a purpose. He rounded them up and decided to use their talents for contract killing. The famed assassin group, robins hood. But even killing wasn't enough to fill it. 

What did he lack? What was the cause of this hole in his chest? Why couldn't he fill it? Why?

...

Kai weakly woke up. It was as if he had been in a dream for the longest time. He grabbed his aching head, and felt wet blood dripping heavily from it.

Did he take the hit directly? No.. something else did.

"What the hell was that?"

Kai faintly remembered a lesson on Spiritual Pressure from his Kidō class. Once Reiatsu is released, it doesn't regenerate but instead returns to its user.

"Were those his memories inside his Spiritual Pressure? Did I absorb some of it when I got hit?"

He looked in front of him, and saw the scattered remains of what seemed to be a destroyed pink scarf, and his Asauchi broken in half. He looked behind him, and saw Linny who was trying to drag him away.

"Mr. Kai, he is only after me. You should run away and maybe he will let you live?"

He softly pinched her by the cheek, which made her wince in pain.

 "A Shinigami should give his life to protect his friends and humanity. It's what I was taught back at Shino Academy. I won't let you die."

Once the dust cleared once more, Akimitsu was surprised to see Kai who was standing up on both feet. His School Shihakushō was partially ripped, which exposed many of his wounds. He was hanging on for dear life.

"That girl sacrificed her Fullbring for you. I didn't even think a Fullbring breaking was possible. Not that it matters now anyway."

Kai took another fighting stance with his broken sword, putting his life on the line to save this girl. With great speed, Akimitsu dashed towards him and prepared to cave his skull in with this final attack. In that same moment Kai felt his body weaken, and was about to collapse.

"Ah- at least I tried. Unlike before, I actually fought back."

A memory of Yukiko smiling at him suddenly flashed in his mind.

"Why am I remembering you all of a sudden?"

He felt his body being pushed away by something as Akimitsu's fist was just inches away from slamming into his face. After a great explosion, he felt himself being pushed away, losing all energy in himself.

In that spot where he once was, he saw Akimitsu standing in without a hint of regret in his eyes. Blood covered his fist, however it was not his own. Nor was it Kai's.

Despair over took Kai once he saw the headless body laying in front of that murderer. The impact from the punch was so powerful that her head splattered into millions of pieces, with some remains of her brain being left in that crater.

"Why?"

Linny was dead. Her young life taken away from her for no particular reason.