Sacrament

Episode 1: Ritual

It was the ritual of the Scottish village of Lorn to sacrifice 3 beautiful women for the death of each man. That was the way or Lorn –it had been for hundreds of years and would remain for a hundred more.

The women of Lorn had a habit of giving birth to baby girls. 4 out of 5 children to be exact. That was the way of the Lorn women for hundreds of years, and would remain for hundreds more. This led to the overpopulation ratio of women to men in Lorn, which angered the selfish men greatly. They created the ritual for the sacrifice of women every October 31st so that they would not e overcome by the opposite sex.

Eventually, when the fear of witchcraft entered the century, the men decided that only the beautiful women of Lorn should be sacrificed. Beautiful women back in the dark ages of Lorn were thought to be Witches –slaves to black magic. Three beautiful women of Lorn, for every man that had died that year, were all sacrificed on October 31st.

It was the most dreaded day in all of Lorn.

Rukia was a little girl. Her dark midnight hair was short, only reaching her shoulders with a stubborn band of hair in between her violet eyes. She was small and lithe when she should be pudgy at the ripe age of six. She was also a fighter, not like the other timid, doe-eyed girls from the Scottish village of Lorn.

Early in the morning, Rukia's mother, Hisana, would take her into the woods to practice with her bow and arrows. Hisana told Rukia to never tell her father Byajuya about their practice with weapons. Men of Lorn did not like their women to be capable in the defending arts, only in the bedroom.

But Hisana was a beautiful and strong willed woman who was determined to make sure her daughter could protect herself against any enemy.

Naturally, as Rukia grew older, she became one with the sword, bow, and dagger. She was the fiercest fighter in all of Lorn. Her hair grew longer as she entered her eighth year of existence, her eyes sharper and fuller of knowledge. It was on that eighth birthday that Hisana slowly and carefully rose from her bed so she wouldn't awake Byakuya's naked and sleeping form.

"My Darling," Hisana put her hands on Rukia's shoulders. "I have taught everything I have to teach you."

"Does that mean we're not going to the woods anymore, Mum?" Rukia's wild violet eyes are questioning, holding a bit of sadness. She likes shooting her arrows in the morning. Clashing her sword with her mother. She loves getting stronger. And she loves that she has at least one thing hidden from her father. Her own little secret.

"No, no, sweetie." Hisana brushes the stubborn band of hair away from Rukia's face only to let it fall once again. "I want you to go, every morning, as early as you can! You must now teach yourself to be stronger." She kisses her young daughter's forehead. "Alright?"

"Okay." Rukia sprints out of the front door of the Kuchiki family's lavish estate. With her cloak tight around her shoulders and the veil of darkness from the early morning protecting her, Rukia headed to her favorite spot in the woods.

That was the last time Hisana saw her daughter. She hated goodbyes, and couldn't bear to see her daughter cry. This was the way she had to do this. No pain, no tears. A clean break. She watched her daughter's retreating form until she was just a small pinprick in the distance.

It was late last night that Byakuya had told his wife that she was to be sacrificed in the morning of October 31st. Hisana wasn't surprised in the least. She was on the list of most beautiful women I the village, and had been victim to the suspicion of performing black magic.

These suspicions weren't true at all. In fact, Hisana was only half Witch. She could only perform level 3 Kido, and special technique called Flashstep.

Hisana didn't use this special technique to escape only because she knew her daughter would be chosen to take her place as sacrifice. Hisana sighed, and returned to her bed with Byakuya for a few more hours until the village rose.

Rukia was a little girl when she first fell in love at the ripe age of eight. Her hair had grown longer, almost to the small of her back in big waves. The dark band of hair in between her eyes was still stubborn; her violet eyes were now deep and sharp with the knowledge of many things. And most importantly, she was a fighter. The best in all of Lorn. She took her sword, and screamed a battle cry in her high-pitched childlike voice as she attacked an imagined opponent. She ducked, rolled, and stabbed at the invisible enemy's feet which sent his imaginary ass flying. She hacked his sorry butt into the ground and spit before she took a swig of water from her canteen and rubbed her dirty hands on the trousers that she stole from her father. She had tied a belt around her waist tight to keep the white pants up and stuffed the bottoms into her boots so she wouldn't trip. Rukia smiled to herself and took another gulp of water from the canteen.

Then here was a clapping noise.

Rukia whirled around to face the danger, and saw a boy with a mop of strange orange colored hair. He was older than her, no more than ten though, and was leaning against a big oak tree, midnight black sword stuck in the mud beside him as he continued to clap his hands.

"Well done." He said in a mature voice beyond his years.

Rukia stared at the strange amber-eyed boy with horror. How could she be so foolish! She had gotten cocky and didn't even check the area to see if it was clear before she practiced! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

She tightened her grip on her bleached white sword and glared at the boy with her piercing violet eyes. "You're not going to tell Aizen, are you?"

Aizen was second in command to the leader of Lorn, Yamamoto. He was the one that enforced law and order, and surveyed the sacrifice rituals. Some say he hand-picked the victims of sacrifice himself.

"I don't know… he might just give me a shiny gold coin for this," the boy gestured at Rukia's sweating and dirty form. "…information."

"Bastard!" Rukia glared at the boy who literally held her life in his hands. "I'll fight you!"

The boy scoffed. "Oh please. I can take you, little girl," He picked up his sword from its place wedged in the dirt. "Easily."

Rukia roared, and ran towards the boy with her sword pointed at his selfish heart.

"Ohhh, feisty eh?" The boy dodged Rukia's attack without much effort and grabbed her shirt collar. So maybe Rukia wasn't the best fighter in all of Lorn. "This is what you get for wearing men's clothes, little girl." He tossed Rukia aside and she lost her breath as she crashed into the mud. She spat some dirt out sluggishly but rose to her feet again.

"Not bad. At least you have some fight in ya. I respect that." The amber-eyed boy smiled almost warmly.

Rukia's brow furrowed. "You respect me?"

His face fell into a nasty scowl. He had just said the phrase that is never uttered in the village of Lorn. "No! I don't!"

"You just said it!" Rukia wiped all the mud off of her pale white sword. "I heaaaaarrrd you." Rukia started to giggle.

"Shut up, GIRL!" The boy spit. "Or I'll tell Byakuya. And Aizen."

Now it's Rukia's turn for her face to fall.

"Ya. I know 'ol Byakuya's your father. I'm not blind. You look just like Hisana. And your pants have the Kuchiki family crest on the side."

Rukia's gaze slipped down to the side of her leg where the red crest sat blazing against the stark white pants. Ugh, why didn't the mud cover up her family crest?

"How do you know what my family crest looks like?" She used some extra mud gathered on her thigh to cover up the revealing crest.

"My father works for your father. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ah, yes. Rukia had heard of the Kurosaki family. Ichigo's mother had been sacrificed three years ago among many others. She remembered. She was there to watch her burn. Masaki had been a beautiful woman with shiny chestnut hair and big welcoming eyes. From what Hisana had told her, Rukia knew Masaki had not died a Witch. Mistake on Lorn's part.

"I'm sorry. For your mum, I mean." Rukia stared into Ichigo's warm tawny eyes. "Please don't tell Aizen about…" Rukia raised her sword slightly. "This. Or Byakuya. He would kill me."

Ichigo's scowl hardened in contemplation. A long, aggravating moment passed before Ichigo opened his mouth to speak. Rukia held her breath.

"Fine." Ichigo sighed. "Only because I pity you today."

"Why do you pity me?" Rukia asked, hands on her hips in question. What could he possibly pity Rukia Kuchiki for? She had money, titles, a large estate and an esteemed family name. Other than being a woman, what the strange Ichigo Kurosaki pity her for?

"You don't know?" Ichigo's eyes widen in horror. HE never though he would be the one to bear this news to such a pretty young girl. "Your mother was on the list to be sacrificed today. It's October 31st. She was chosen anonymously –both for her good looks and her suspicion of black magic."

"No!" Rukia sprints to the boy and grabs his shirt collar. "Liar!"

"I'm not a liar!" Ichigo struggles to rip the girl's small hands off his shirt. "I snuck into the meeting of elders, and hid behind a barrel of ale. I went to make sure my pretty sisters weren't chosen to be sacrificed! I heard your mother's name come up in their conversation many times before a barking dog gave me away and I ran."

Rukia, slowly, bit by bit, relaxed her fingers and released Ichigo's shirt. Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief before Rukia pulled her arm back and punched Ichigo in the face –hard.

"Ahh!" Ichigo tumbled to his knees from the blow, holding his broken nose that was now gushing with blood. "You bi-"

Rukia took off running at a dead sprint, picking up her sword, bow, and arrows as she went. Her mother was going to be sacrificed. She had to stop Aizen. Kill him, if she had the chance.

Ichigo called after her, blood streaming into his mouth as he screamed. "No! You'll be killed...!"

Rukia ignored him and continued running until she was out of his sight.

"Shit." Ichigo mumbled, and ran a hand through his tousled orange hair. His lips curled into a half smile.

He damned loved her courage though.

End of Chapter One.

A/N: This is my first bleach fic, and only the second one I've ever written. I hope you like it. (: The whole story is NOTTT going to take place in Ichigo and Rukia's younger years, not at all. Maybe only the next two chapters, then they will develop into their teens/early 20's and the story will get better, I promise. I have a lot planned for this fic and I hope to update every 2 weeks or less. Thank you for reading and please comment! It lets me know you care. 3