Memories of a broken soul by arelia22 (Bleach)

Summary: Time is a weird thing; it can sometimes bring relief and hope, but there are times that it only brings dread. For him, time was as much of a curse as it was a blessing; he had time to grow strong and protect, but the memories of those times could become to much of a burden with all the time he had. [Time-travel]

Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10614442/1/

Word count:133k+

Chapters:25

Chapter 1: Prologue

The distant sound of a piddle paddle could be heard. It was not deafening, but it wasn't so quiet either. He should hear the drops of the rain, but his ears just couldn't register anything no matter how much he tried. His half lidded eyes felt so heavy and as the tear droplets fell on his face and slid down his cheeks. He could barely make out the slight sting when they intruded his amber orbs.

He was inclined on a tree trunk in… he didn't know where, but it was most likely the woods. His body ached even if he was still and made no attempt to move. His breaths came out in harsh pants almost like if he had run a marathon. He coughed when he felt the air wasn't enough for his mangled lungs and felt the blood trickle down his chin to join the water on the floor. The little drops mingled together with the puddles of clear water and made it red. He honestly didn't know why he was still alive. He should have died hours ago, yet, for some reason he refused to die.

'Just let this suffering end…'

He wasn't covered in a puddle of his own blood since he had most likely lost it all back there when he was injured. He could still feel the cold steel piercing his very being and couldn't avoid a small whimper from escaping his pale lips that had lost color along with the rest of his skin.

His eyelids felt so heavy and he couldn't help but sigh in relief. Maybe, just maybe, he was finally dying. That brought a sense of happiness at the pit of his stomach. He could finally rest and follow his family and friends into death. He knew very well he would never meet them, more less the chance since he was dying here, but he didn't care. The sense of ease that graced his very soul was enough to feel peaceful as his last breaths came closer and closer.

He thought he heard a noise in the distance, but he really couldn't be sure. He could barely make out the sound of thunder and droplets, so of course, he couldn't hear a noise that was muffled by the rain.

He coughed again, noticing that he didn't cough up anymore blood, most likely because he just didn't have blood anymore. After all, he was dying, so why should the lack of blood matter?

He felt the pounding in his chest slow down little by little as the minutes went by, minutes that seemed like hours. He started to feel numb, unsure if it was due to the cold rain he was drenched in or because he is dying.

His eyes were almost closed now. He wanted to stay awake until the last of his breaths, but he might not make it. Not sleeping for such a long time had finally done a toll on him. He blinked once and then twice trying to avoid sleep. He wanted to die seeing the trees rustle with the wind, the blue sky even if it was blocked with so many gray clouds. He really wanted to die gazing at his partner in arms, the beautiful blade that had saved him so many times and had taught him anything at his disposal.

He really wanted to die with the pitch black blade as the last thing he saw, but apparently his wish was not going to be granted. His eyelids slid closed to hide piercing amber eyes from the world's sight. He gave out a last sigh as he could have sworn he heard another noise foreign from the precious melody the rain gave him. As he slipped into sleep from his exhaustion, at mere minutes away from his last breaths, he felt ever so slightly with the last of his senses the water droplets stop falling and the winds pick up pace as they carried the clouds away into a distant land maybe even more far away than he had ever traveled before…

'I'm sorry everyone… I won't be able to fulfill my promise…'

These were the last thoughts he registered in his unfocused mind as darkness engulfed it. A never-ending darkness, for some reason, not scary whatsoever.

To be continued…