Bleach: Stains of the Past

22 August 2025

Japan Hiroshima.

I was sitting in front of the street where people were constantly walking with a cardboard in my hand that said 'I'm hungry'.

The feeling of hunger in my stomach, which had started since I came here, was increasing as time passed.

I noticed that people passing by were constantly looking at me as if I was a disgusting person. But I didn't mind because I was used to it.

All I can think about right now is to eat a few bites.

And I'm scorching with the heat of summer. No matter how much shade I was in, the warmth emanating from the concrete penetrated my skin.

The feast of the cicadas could also be heard.

Now you're wondering, aren't you? Why do I have to do this here?

Frankly, I don't know the answer either. I never had the Mom and Dad that people call family. When I first started walking and talking, I was with an old man. He was begging like me.

Ahh, what is the old man doing? I haven't seen him again since he left me. When I told him I saw strange slightly transparent people, he made fun of me and left me.

But right now one of those strange slightly transparent people is scratching the inside of my ear with his pinky finger.

"Hehehehe... little one, you can't feel me, can you?"

Right now, he started making strange noises, trying to turn himself into an even more stupid person by putting his thumb on his nose.

As much as I noticed him, other people seemed not to notice this strange man.

After a while, he must have been bored because after he corrected the stupid expression on his face, he slowly moved away from me.

We must have approached noon as the temperature of the day had increased even more. The things I could collect since morning are only a few hundred yen.

Maybe I should pack up and end the day here.

With these few hundred yen I've collected, I can at least have one meal out. Thinking about it, I started walking towards the street where the markets are located.

I could feel the heat of the sun hard on my toes as my shoes were almost falling apart.

Anyway, at least I'll be able to eat something.

"Roaaaaaaaaaaarr..."

I blocked my ears from this slightly aggravating scream. It sounded like the sound I heard the other night when I was about to go to sleep.

The scream wasn't far away, maybe it was in one of the streets ahead, but for some reason I started to feel my legs shaking.

Why am I afraid?

I started to hear the sounds of the alarms of the cars and I witnessed that the corner of the building right in front of my gaze was completely shattered.

My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets. But when I looked at people, it kept going in the direction they were, as if it had never happened.

My brain was telling me that I had to run away as soon as possible, but I couldn't move my legs because I was afraid.

I fell on my ass where I was.

A short while later, a purple creature wearing a huge white mask appeared from the side of that shattered building, and it roared once more, looking at me with its frightening mask.

I feel my heart going to pierce my chest.

'Get up... Move.' I started punching my legs. That creature began to approach me, albeit slowly.

Only a few buildings remained between us and the creature. When I looked up at the sky, it was as big as a building.

As I closed my eyes in fear, I heard several bells echoing.

When I opened my eyes and looked at what was happening, I saw that there was a long-haired person standing in front of me, wearing a black dress and a white fabric belt tied around her waist. She was holding a strange sheath around her waist with her right hand.

She immediately brought her left hand in front of her right, and then she took something steel out of the sheath. This was similar to the ancient swords called Katana that I saw in some shops.

'This is my chance. I can escape now.' Thinking this way, I forced myself to act, and I was successful.

While I was getting up, I accidentally fell to the ground again, but I quickly got up again and started running.

As I was running away, I turned my head slightly and looked at what was behind me and saw that the person wearing the black dress was fighting that creature.

I was so focused on running that I didn't realize I was running towards the road.

After hearing a few horns, I turned my head and noticed a car speeding towards me.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds in fear.

When I opened my eyes again, I couldn't see the car. I turned my head and looked back when I heard the confused screams of the people around.

The car that was about to hit me was standing there.

Lots of people were huddled in front of that car too, yelling about something.

I was going to head in that direction, wondering what it was, but I looked further, thinking that creature might still be there.

But I couldn't see anything there.

Then it's okay for me to go to the car.

After approaching the car and walking through the people, I saw someone lying in front of the car. It looked a lot like me.

When I came to my body lying on the ground, I was covered in blood all over my body.

"I... I didn't realize it, and it jumped right in front of me. I tried to run away, but... I don't know."

Only the car driver's defense could be heard.

"You saw what happened there, didn't you?"

When I realized that a girl's voice was speaking to me, I turned my head and looked to my side. She was the girl in the black dress, fighting the purple creature.

"You tried to escape because of what you saw there and you jumped in front of this car..."

After finishing her sentence, she bowed her head in front of me.

"Sorry, I couldn't make it in time. I'm really sorry."

After looking at my body lying motionless on the floor, I asked in a slightly trembling voice.

"What will happen to me now?"

"I will send you to a place where you will find peace. There you will live a more comfortable life and be in no danger."

After removing her katana from its holster again, she placed the hilt on my forehead.

Although my surroundings were bright for a short time, after my vision returned, I found myself lying in the shade of a tree.

My head ached like I was going crazy, and when I got up from the ground and looked around, it looked like I wasn't in an ordinary place at all.

There were very few buildings in the surrounding area.

I started to act, thinking that I had to research the environment to understand where I was.