Walking Through The Pitch Black Snow

Chapter 4: Returning to my nightmares

Akira P.O.V
During my time at the academy, I was deemed a prodigy. My massive amounts of Reiatsu and complex understanding of the soul society, earned me respect from both students and teachers. In fact, many wanted to become close to me, but I didn't need people. The only attachments I had, were to my remaining family and my few teachers. The night after I graduated and was granted my sealed zanpakuto, I had a weird dream. I woke up in my old home, but it was extremely hot. In fact the heat made it extremely hard to breath. I saw a man who seemed to be in his early twenties, wearing a black hood.

I could not see his face, but he felt oddly familiar. While I was sweating profusely, he seemed weirdly at peace with his surroundings. " Are you not hot?" I asked while wiping the sweat off of my forehead. " I can never be hot. That is my nature" he said as he walked through a nearby door. I then felt that the heat rose and noticed that behind me was a raging fire. I quickly ran through the door aswell and saw the man again, though he was on the roof. His hood didn't seem to obey physics since it never fell. " You should get going. This heat isn't very nice." He said as I followed him. Soon the entire house erupted in flames on both sides. I was cornered with no escape as I looked at the man. " How do I get out of here?" I asked as I became light headed. " You can only escape by calling my name" he said. " What is it?" I asked as he stared at me. " My name is ( inaudible)" he replied as I became confused. Then the ground under me broke, as I fell into the fiery abyss. The only thoughts that ran through my head were about my parents. If I gave up here, their deaths would be in vain. They fought to the very end to save me and my sister, and I was willing to give up. Suddenly I felt no heat as I opened my eyes. Instinctively, I shouted " Zangetsu!" as the entire area then froze. I then landed softly on a pillar of ice with a black sword in my hand.

" It seems that you were successful" the man said as he dropped next to me. " It seems that I was" I replied. " Now, do you know who I am?" He asked as I smiled. " You are zangetsu" I said confidently. " You are half right, but that is a good enough answer for now." As he said this, the world faded and I woke up in my room. I remembered everything clearly, as zangetsu's power was flowing through my body. I then got up and performed my normal morning routine, before I ran to the Shinigami barracks. I requested training from Captain Hitsugaya, Captain Soi fon and Ex-Captain Shihouin. Over the next year I had brutal training to master my zanpakuto and other techniques. From Captain Soi fon and Shihouin I trained in stealth and Shunpo. The art of assasination was another thing that I was taught by the two. Though most of my training was from Captain Hitsugaya, since I was trying to perfect my ice attacks. Then the day finally came, where I would return to the world of the living. I wasn't returning to my old home, but instead a town called Kuoh. I said my goodbyes to everyone before I walked through the Senkaimon.