Raised in the Light

Shadows of the Past

*As we begin my second full length Bleach story I can assure everyone that I do not own or make money on Bleach. *

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Techniques or emphasis

More emphasis

***RitL***

Vengeance

It was the driving force, the only goal, the only idea in his mind.

Vengeance against those who had betrayed him, those who had wronged him, those who had slaughtered his people. They would burn for their deceit, for the manipulations that they tried to bring onto the world.

They had nearly wiped out his descendants, his family.

But they had made a very costly mistake, one that would haunt them as he was ramming his sword through their throats.

They had failed to kill him.

Now he had time, if there was anything that he had abundant amounts of it was time at this point. He would plan his return. They had failed because although they had struck from the shadows without warning or mercy they had done so too quickly. They had deemed themselves and their plan to be flawless.

They were wrong, had they bided their time like he now did they would have undoubtedly been victorious but instead they had struck too early and without a proper plan.

If there was one thing Quincy excelled at, above all else, it was planning.

And now as Yhwach sat upon his exiled throne in a world beneath worlds he began to plan. Soon all would know exactly what happens when you strike an enemy and fail to deliver the killing blow.

***RitL***

It had to be done, it was not a pleasant thing, raw slaughter, but it was something that had to be done at times.

Kill one save a thousand, kill a thousand save future millions.

It was the philosophy that the 'Gotei 13' had agreed upon. The thirteen original Shinigami, the Gods of Death themselves.

The Quincy had to be purged, had to be annihilated on a grand scale in order to preserve the future. They would not cooperate, would not yield, and would not negotiate in anyway with the Soul King.

Their hubris would be their undoing. They believed themselves to be untouchable; that none could, or would, stand against them.

How wrong they were.

Waves of fire roared forth, incinerating those who went about their daily routines. These would be the lucky ones, those who would never see their loved ones killed or feel themselves cut into pieces by the others.

Next came dozens of explosions, caused by the few Kido masters that had been recruited. Entire buildings collapsed, taking hundreds of innocent, and not so innocent, lives along to the ground.

Finally came the most bloodthirsty of the Shinigami. Those who had truly earned their nickname in the number of souls they had taken.

They spilled rivers of blood, flooding the area and covering not only themselves but anyone in the area in the crimson liquid.

Their laughter, like that of a child stepping on an ant or a sadistic butcher cutting into an animal, rang out through the streets.

Moral was shattered, the few soldiers sent against them torn apart, and those who fled cut down without remorse.

But the worst atrocities were yet to come. Those who could not flee and instead tried to hide.

The elderly, women, children, and infants. All were eventually sliced into pieces by gleeful Shinigami.

None survived the massacre.

It was only days later, when Yhwach and his royal followers returned, that he bore witness to the senseless war that the Shinigami had started.

There had been no official declaration, no warnings, no negotiations that might have even hinted at what would occur.

The Soul King had demanded that the Quincy bow to him, to forsake their heritage and their powers and live at the mercy of Hollows and other foul creatures. To leave the official 'enforcement' of the spiritual world up to a handful of 'chosen few'.

But the Quincy were proud of their bloodline, proud of their past, and of their present. They refused to rely on others for protection when they could protect themselves. Now they burned for it.

After the search had begun for survivors the ambush occurred, just when they were at their weakest, at their most vulnerable.

His guard was slaughtered without effort.

Yhwach himself was caught in fierce combat with the general himself, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Before he could activate his true powers, to show this monster exactly what he was capable of the man before him activated his trump card.

Zanka no Tachi

The Quincy lord was defeated instantly, his body nearly destroyed in the resulting attack.

It was only due to his mastery over his blood powers that he managed to survive, dissolving whatever was left of himself into the life fluid and seeping down into the cracks of the earth to hide and recover.

He would not let these killers escape justice so easily.

***RitL***

-One thousand years later-

Finally, his return was complete, all except for his powers. Now it was time to gather whatever survivors he could. His children would join together once more and destroy those who were responsible for the slaughter of their kind, those who deemed themselves unassailable.

Yet in the peace that followed they had become lazy and weak. Gone were the bloodthirsty murderers that had composed their former ranks.

Instead there was frailty and relaxation.

The Shinigami had fallen under the curtain that once cloaked the Quincy, a cloak of peace. While this promoted freedom and good will it did nothing to prepare them for the harsh realities of war. The war that had never truly ended.

The One Thousand Year Blood War.

***RitL***

Masaki Kurosaki recognized the signs just like any Quincy would have. It was the call to return home, the signal that the Lord of the Quincy was seeking to return once more and wished to gather his forces. The call of family.

Yet she ignored it, defied it. She had a family here in the World of the Living. Here with her husband Isshin, her two newborn daughters Karin and Yuzu, and her young son Ichigo.

It was everything she had ever wanted and more, so why would she answer a call to prepare for war? Why would she give everything up just for some petty act of revenge?

She knew what would come next, and yet she couldn't bring herself to care. Auswahlen would rip her powers from her body, remove what had been her birthright.

She knew but did not care. Only pure blooded Quincy could resist it and with the Hollow having tainted her soul she no longer could. But it didn't matter. She would gladly give up her heritage if it meant staying out of this war.

So when she felt her powers torn from her she paid it no mind. Though it was painful it wouldn't matter in the long run. The young housewife intended to live in peace.

The only thing that concerned her now was that the light had not fallen on her children. She knew that it wouldn't, despite what the Shinigami thought Yhwach was not a merciless sociopath. The technique refused to target children or anyone who could not knowingly make the choice to abandon their family when ordered to appear before his majesty.

Heck she probably could have kept her powers regardless, all she had to do was to arrive at the meeting place and come before her 'father'. But by doing so she would expose herself to the violence and zealotry that had always consumed their way of life.

She refused to be the puppet of the Quincy any longer.

***RitL***

The eldest Quincy looked on as the Auswahlen took place, tearing the powers from the Quincy who refused the call of their family.

It was a sad thing really, and something he had not wanted to enact but… they were at war and this meant that sacrifices had to be made.

Looking through the portal into the World of the Living he came across a very peculiar scene, a mother protecting a young orange haired boy from a vicious Hollow. Clearly she was a former Quincy but without her powers she would be no match against the creature and thus devoured. A pity really but he could not intervene and risk exposing his return so early.

That is until he felt a familiar stirring within the small child. A power resided in this boy that was different and yet so very familiar. Part Quincy, part Shinigami. A perfect union and yet… there was something else within his soul.

This child, should he survive, would undoubtedly grow to become a fearsome power for any faction he fought for.

The Shinigami could not be allowed to turn him into their weapon. Yhwach would never stand by and let one of his children be abandoned to his enemies again.

***RitL***

"M-mommy are you okay?"

The small child crawled out from beneath the woman after she hadn't acknowledged him.

"Mommy?"

The mysterious girl standing by the river was gone, leaving no evidence of her existence.

The boy gently touched the woman's face, trying to wake her up. They had to get home to Daddy and his sisters. She was getting soaked.

"Mommy wake up you need to wake up."

This time the young boy gently pushed on her shoulder, trying to wake his parent as he had done before when she 'pretended' to be sleeping on the weekend.

It was a favorite game of theirs.

Now though, her face made no signs of movement, there was no slight smile that threatened to consume her in laughter and joy. There was no twitch of her body at all.

"Please wake up mommy… please wake up…"

The woman would never open her eyes again.

***RitL***

A father sat in the lobby of the local hospital, nervously wringing his hands.

He had received a call less than an hour prior, something had happened. No answer had been given when he had demanded answers, only that he needed to come down to the hospital immediately.

Luckily this was where one of his few friends worked, and he knew that at least the Quincy would give him some answers.

"Mr. Kurosaki?"

"Yes, yes right here."

The nurse nodded, a sad expression on her face. That was never a good sign.

"If you would come with me please… we need to speak with you in private."

Another bad sign.

Nodding the man hurried after the woman. Thankfully Urahara had been home and more than willing to look after his two young daughters.

That still left his son and wife unaccounted for, what if something had happened to one of them? What if something had happened to both of them? How would he carry on if…

The door opened and Ryuken Ishida nodded towards the man.

"Nurse, leave us."

"Of course sir." The woman gave one last apologetic glance backwards before leaving for other duties.

"Ryuken what is going on? No one would tell me…"

"Sit... please."

The father of three took the chair that had been gestured to and stared back at the other man.

"Kurosaki… Isshin, there has been an accident… I am so sorry."

The white haired man before him forced himself to look away, blinking away the tears. The former Shinigami had never seen his stoic companion cry before.

Isshin's world fell apart.

***RitL***

Ryuken could do nothing for the man seated before him. A man who openly wept for the loss of his wife and the disappearance of his son. A man who had lost half of his family.

The Quincy knew that Masaki had lost her powers, he had felt the same pull on his own but had waved it off with his right as a pure blood.

His wife had not been so lucky, and now lay sick with him and his own child.

If the same situation had been reversed… if his wife and son had been killed...

The white haired man was sure that the former Shinigami would be at his side, pledging his loyalty to hell and back to protect his friend's family. It was just the kind of man that Isshin Kurosaki was.

But now? What would the hospital director do to comfort the man he had come to see as one of his few true friends in this world?

Anything

"Isshin, we are going to find Ichigo. I will do everything in my power to help you."

They both knew the truth, however. Although there had been no body and no spiritual remains of the orange haired boy there was very little doubt he had been devoured by the creature. Hollows might have a hard time completely eating an adult human but children… there was a very good reason that the Quincy hated the creatures as they did.

The sobbing man nodded, before choking out a grateful "thank you" and declaring him to be one of the truest friends he had ever made in his long life.

The declaration seemed to lift the other father's heart, knowing that he had a chance to truly help one of the important people in his life.

***RitL***

A young Ichigo Kurosaki looked up at the older man standing before him. A man that seemed to carry himself in a way that the boy had never seen before. There was an elegance, a power to him.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Y-yes?"

"I am sorry to tell you but you mother has died protecting you."

"N-N-N…"

The boy never got out the words, instead falling to his hands and knees as he began to openly sob.

Strange

Yhwach hadn't felt this emotion in hundreds of years… an emotion that he had long since believed himself to have lost.

Sorrow

He felt pity towards the boy, as if this one child wept not only for himself but for the tears that the elder Quincy himself could not shed. Tears for his people long dead, for being unable to protect them, for failing them.

Walking forward the older man wrapped his arm and cloak around the boy to shield him from the rain.

What he hadn't expected was for the boy to latch onto him in a fierce hug, as if trying to find something safe to hold on to now that his parent was gone.

Slowly and awkwardly the Quincy returned the hug.

"My son, born into darkness… you shall be raised in the light."

***Next Chapter Preview!***

"It is a Hollow. A monster that feeds on the innocent and those who cannot protect themselves. They are attracted to spiritual power and devour the souls of anyone they can. They are abominations that should be destroyed."

Jugo turned to his brother, and best friend, a shocked expression on his face.

***Omake: What was his plan again? ***

"Oh Captain Aiiiiiiiiiiizennnnnnnnnnn"

"Gin" the bespectacled man nodded in greeting, before going over some reports made by Tousen. At this point he always had the dark skinned man prepare his paperwork, if not then he would be forced to deal with Ichimaru and his crayon drawings.

"What're you up to?"

"Going over some various information on our experiments, do you have news Gin?"

"Oh I got news Captain Aizen, I got news for days"

The two other officer ranked men stopped and glanced up to the man, waiting for him to continue.

He did not

"And?" Tousen inquired, after a few minutes of silence.

"And what?"

"You said you had news"

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did…"

"Nope, nothing to report. Nadda, zilch, zero, nuthin, aint got crap."

"Ah we must have mishear…" The blind man began, while Aizen took a sip of his tea.

"Except for the fact that Auswahlen has been activated and Masaki Kurosaki is dead."

The tea that was promptly spat all over the room.

"Gin…." The man growled dangerously, his fingers itching to unsheathe his Zanpakuto and cut down his former Lieutenant.

"Oh relax I thought you said that you had planned all this out?"

"I planned… YES! of course I did, I have planned everything out! Silly Gin, questioning my plans."

"Yup silly me"

"So is that all then? No matter at least nothing happened to…"

"Also Ichigo Kurosaki is gone."

Once again Aizen spat out tea all over the room, though where it had come from Tousen couldn't quite figure out.

"What!? Oh this isn't good at all, ALL OF MY PLANS!"

"Uh what plans did you have with a small child exactly?" Gin questioned.

"I already told you that everything resides around Ichigo Kurosaki. All of my plans and manipulations hinge around him!"

"But I thought they were focused on the Hogyoku? How exactly does Ichigo fit into that?" The silver haired man asked.

"Simple, simple Gin. My plans are so complex that you cannot even begin to fathom them."

"They wouldn't involve pushing him to become more and more powerful until he eventually transcends and encounters you in an epic battle for the sake of the world in Karakura town, where he ultimately defeats you in which you are then stuck in a chair until you two rally together in one final battle against the Quincy Lord… do they?"

"Uhmmmmm no?"

Tousen proceeded to take a small notebook entitled 'Aizen's awesome planz' from a nearby drawer.

"It looks as though you even autographed it Aizen-Sama…"

"Enough of this foolishness Tousen! Gin we will have to make other plans, and then plans upon those plans, and further plans based on the plans which were created for the first plans!"

"Of course Captain Aizen, AND IF I CANNOT AID YOU I SHALL RUN ONE HUNDRED LAPS AROUND THE SEIREITEI ON MY BIG TOE!"

The two other men stared at their ever grinning companion for a moment, before shaking off their confusion at one of Gins antics.

***A/N***

Ladies and Gentlemen it is good to be back! Chapter one of my second full length Bleach story: Raised in the Light started off with a bang and some much needed, but mostly neglected from the manga, background! If some of you have not figured it out yet this will be a 'Quincy Ichigo' story.

On a very serious note… holy crap have I missed writing for Gin. He is, and I'm being completely honest right now, the most fun character I have ever had the pleasure of using in a story. He can just troll the hell out of everyone and it still makes sense!

I have a pairing in mind already and no this will not be a 'harem' fic. Most of the Stern Ritter are going to be completely rebuilt because I found them utterly ridiculous in the manga.

Hopefully everyone enjoys the changes and the story itself… you are all in for one hell of a ride!