I'd been thinking so much about what the sword I found that night was meant to be for. So many times, I'd wandered out in the moonlight, unable to comprehend what it was. Eventually it lead me to question more than just that. As I grew older, I realized that my hair did not wither or grey, nor did my face seem to show signs of stress or wear. I figured my parents knew something, so I asked them. "We're not human, are we? I've seen the faces of friends and foe alike age and turn, but mine is the same as it was 40 years ago." They both smiled at me, Mother and Father, nodding. My Father was the first to speak, "Son, we used to live in another realm called the Soul Society. Specifically, we lived in the outer reaches called the Rukongai. We came here because your body couldn't handle that place. It began to wither and burn." Then my Mother's voice rang out. "We brought you here, to a place that still had a magical air to it, but a gentle one, so that maybe one day, we could all go back. We never meant to keep you from the truth forever."

Still, they mentioned nothing about the sword I carried at my waist, though they probably knew something. Mayhap it was well intended, but at the time I couldn't help but feel a tad betrayed. "I think it best if I take me own path, explore my nature and the world. I'll stop by and visit, but please dunnae be upset if I don't come back for a long time. I love you both, as ye never once left me behind." Not that I expected them to be so kind, but they again nodded, and they bade me farewell. As years would pass, I'd explore the human world. I'd see a great many things, and I'd every so often see beasts like the one that I saw that night so long ago. I understood not what they were, or why they seemed to appear wherever I went, but the ones I encountered fell easily to the blade I carried.

As the ages went on, I remember counting that I was now well over 200 years old, 280 to be precise, and I was exploring the humid jungles of what they called "South America". I wasn't much fond of the heat, but I still dealt with it as i would anything else. To no surprise, a hollowed beast appeared, but something felt very wrong. As I'd sent many of these things on by now, I'd gotten used to the feeling they brought on, or at least I thought I had. The feeling that this one gave me was akin to the first one I'd fought.... though much, much worse. It was so terrible in fact, that as I went to draw the blade, my body crumpled to a knee, and my grip failed. The blade clattered to the ground, and with it, so did I. I could not fight, nor could I cry for help. No was around, surely. The feeling was so much like the first night... and yet, this time I was sure I was good as dead. I closed my eyes, with only the accompanying thoughts of me Mum and Da.

Ika was watching the boy from a nearby tree, amused by his behaviors and relatively low power level. It was clear that he had no training, even his sloppy footwork and stance revealed that much. Of course this was followed by the boy collapsing in a heap for what appeared to be no apparent reason. Wasn't Ika's problem, a dead Shinigami, boo-fuckin-hoo.. But for some reason, a reason beyond Ika's own comprehension he felt compelled to save this boy. It was probably a power thing, the fact that this boy had such a low level of power had more or less led Ika to believe that he was impossibly weak, he didn't even have any business being out here dealing with an Adjuchas class Hollow. As the Hollow prepared to tear him to shreds, Ika Shunpo'd down to it, placing a firm arm around it's throat. He had locked it in a bulldog choke of sorts and was shaking his head gently. "I think sometimes you all need to learn table manners and frankly, I think you should work on bigger meals. Let me show you what I mean.."

As Ika squeezed, the Hollow's teeth began to crack and crumble beneath the weight of his vice like grip. His muscles bulged only slightly as the Hollow's mask shattered, pieces of it were already dissolving into dust as the Hollow's head was crushed in Ika's arms. Once that had been done, Ika rolled his eyes lightly and took a seat where the Hollow once sat. He lit a cigarette, and let the smoke waft in the air. "Hey kid, you're still alive. Wake the hell up before I get bored."

As I let control of my life slip away, I felt something... odd. Someone made themselves known, but by what methods, I have no idea. All I know is it hurt just to be near this person, and as I was weakened enough by the beast, I couldn't exactly leave the aura that was causing me so much pain. Though... That didn't last long. He seemed to talk to the bone-textured thing, taunting it, and within seconds the presence of it was gone, I felt my strength coming back to my body, and as he stood there, he spoke to me, though he didn't seem too interested in small talk. As if by his command, I used the blade I carried with me to prop myself up. "I suppose I should thank you. My name's Kin Baird.... I apologize if I come across as clueless. I'm still new to... well... all of this"

I stood there, looking at the man who saved me, and admittedly, he didn't look like much. I was honestly concerned that he was more concerned with himself than me, though I suppose it'd be a bit much asking for him to do things for perfectly humanitarian reasons. I looked down at my hands, wondering if I could ever be that strong. "I feel like I'm on the verge of becoming something great, but I don't understand anything. I know that I'm hopeless.... if I continue to wander like this."

It seemed that the young fledgling Shinigami had damn near given up before Ika showed up to save him, he hadn't apparently anticipated a miracle such as this to happen to him today. Ika couldn't blame him, being saved by someone as masculine and powerful as Ika was a treat usually reserved for the cutest damsels in distress, yet here this schmuck was getting it without fitting the criteria of being cute, or even a damsel. Come to think of it, why the fuck was this idiot being saved in the first place.. On to more important thoughts. The boy slowly pulled himself to his feet and propped himself up using his blade, it was very apparent that the episode had left him haggard and fairly injured so Ika was sure to give him time to get his bearings while he listened.

The boy thanked Ika first and foremost, a move that almost assuredly saved him from receiving a straight right to the side of his head. He then gave his name, and confirmed Ika's more obvious suspicions that he was new to this whole thing and didn't have half a god-damn clue what he was doing here. Such a young Shinigami, he had no business being out here to deal with a Gillian class Hollow.. "Not your fault kid, to be honest I'm surprised the Gotei sent someone as new as you out on a mission like that. Fuck those guys to be honest, you look like you could use some rest anyway. Oh right, My name is Ika. Ika Mazi, pretty well known to most of you Gotei pri- wait.."

Ika gave the kid a once over before letting his jaw fall slightly agape. "Well I'll be.. you're not even from the Gotei, you're just some poor Shinigami wandering around the Human World, how in the hell did you manage that? Also; you can cool it on your talks of harnessing your potential and being hopeless and all that emo nonsense, you're going to be joining me in Bogota for training and questioning whether you do so willingly or otherwise. So let's start from the beginning.. what in the fuck are you doing here kid?"

I got a very strong air of "Why the hell am I out here doing this?" from the man that saved, me, taking in the fact that he was just standing there, puffing away at a cigarette, not particularly caring that it was basically the middle of bloody fucking nowhere. As I shook off the stress of combat, something I wasn't terribly used to....He began to talk about something called the Gotei. That I was apparently an agent of. I gave him the blankest look I think he may have ever seen, and it was certainly enough for him to realize I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, at which point he stopped midsentence, put two and two together, and behold, figured out, soul, shinigami or no, that I had no idea what I was doing in the slightest. Granted for his wit, he couldn't figure out how I ended up like this, and frankly, I barely knew how I ended up in the situation I was in. "Yep, sounds about right. I don't know what I'm doing here either. Better than staying at home and attracting attention from the silly humans."

So then he said something about how I could stop moping and some other garbled mess of words I didn't understand. He did clarify that I'd be training under him, choice of my own or by force. I'd go willingly. Not about to find out what kind of messed up things he'd do to me if I said 'no'. He finally finished by asking the question that I myself wanted the answer to. I figured I'd catch him up.
"So as far as I understand, cause I'm missing plenty of information meself.... My parents were living in a place called the Rukongai, which ye'll probably know of. I do not. They moved to this world, to Scotland. because me body couldn't handle the energy present there. Not that I know what that means. Me mum said she chose Scotland because of the gentle 'magic' there. As the years went by, when I hit maturity, I stayed there, watching others age around me, and the curious lad in me said 'Okay but why?'. And after I picked this blade up from a dead man, and killed the monster that killed him, I said 'enough' and I asked me parents. They told me I wasn't human, which... great, I think I figured out that much. They never did tell me what I was. I also showed them this sword and they only ever smiled. They looked proud of me, but I think they misunderstood and may have thought I knew more than I did. So I started traveling the world, looking for answers, and ended up here."

Kin spoke to what he was doing here and frankly Ika couldn't have been less impressed with the boy's answer but that was a story for another time. "I think you'll find the attention from silly humans is a bit easier to handle, given if I weren't here you'd be a happy meal for that Hollow I just killed." Ika took another drag on his cigarette and listened to the boy intently as he proceeded to give Ika a small lecture on his life's story. Ika raised an eyebrow as it appeared that the boy had found an asauchi of all things, where in the fuck had he found that?.. No way that was his Zanpakuto was it?..

Ika sighed slightly as he gave the boy a once-over, he nodded a bit and then motioned for him to follow. "So I'm gonna be honest, catching you up on what you are and what you're meant to be is going to be a lot more than I can cover in a Too lazy don't read style statement, you'd be better off following me and doing some required reading in our library. So, there's your first task. Follow me kid." As Ika said this he began to wander a bit, thinking just how exactly he was going to get the boy to Bogota without mind-fucking him.

The answer was that there wasn't a good answer.