Daigoro Ito

The first thing that Daigoro remembers is the day that his mother died. It was quite a scene, really. This youngster, barely able to talk and comprehend the world around him, watched his own mother die before his very eyes. He didn't understand it, at first. She was moving, and then she stopped. But it was what had made her stop which caused this child to naively wonder what was going on. There was a large stick poking out of her chest. That wasn't there before. That was a strange thing, long and straight. It was made of a strange grey material, though Daigoro didn't understand that it was wood. This grey material, however, had some strange red splatters on it. And these splatters were coming from his mother. And there was more red liquid coming from her chest. The youth didn't understand the circumstances of this event. He couldn’t comprehend the fact that his mother had just been stabbed in the chest with a spear. But he understood that she couldn't move anymore. And so the child cried. He didn't know why he was crying, but he was crying out for a woman that no longer heard him. And he would continue to cry, until he was picked up by a pair of rough hands, covered in more of the red, sticky substance that had been coming out of his mother. A kind pair of eyes appeared in his vision, and the child recognized his father. That caused the screams to die, and Daigoro could only watch the man's face, breathing slowly and making soft noises.

That was the first thing that Daigoro remembers. His mother's death. And so... when that death happened, Daigoro was put into a pram. Well, it was sort of like a pram. It was more a carriage of some kind. He didn't quite know, but it was large. And it was dark inside, with metal—well, it looked like metal—surrounding him. The young baby reached out a soft hand, and touched the material, recoiling. It felt... cold and heartless. But there was only love in that carriage... because his father had made it to protect him. So the child's naïve mind did not mind this. Because it made him feel safe, and safe was a good feeling. Especially for one who didn't know the feeling of his mother's bosom anymore. This armored carriage was built to protect Daigoro, by his father's love for him. And his father, Ogami, had finally decided to take control of what was to happen. The man held a powerful position within the Shogunate of his day, serving as the Kogi Kaishakunin. That position gave him power as the Shogun's Executioner, and at times, acting Shogun. But then... this event happened. Daigoro's family was killed before his eyes, and Ogami returned to find them all brutally murdered with but the six-month old Daigoro, and the crest of the Shogun in the family shrine. This signified a supposed 'wish' for the death of the Shogun, and Ogami was marked as a traitor, forced to run with Daigoro in this armored carriage. But that was not all that occurred within this massacre. The blood that flew around the room had covered the baby's head, soaking down to the roots. The originally black-haired Daigoro was discovered with a hair of red locks that would just not wash away... Daigoro would forever hold locks of hair that were stained red by the blood of his family.

Six months later, Daigoro was given a choice by his father. Before this child, on the dusty ground, Ogami laid two objects. To the left, he laid a small ball, one with a bell in it; a simple child's toy. On the right, he laid a short-sword, a tanto. One that was just the right size for a child this age. And he gave the boy a choice, to choose either the ball, or the sword. If the child chose the ball, Ogami would end his life then and there, sending Daigoro back to be with his mother in the afterlife. But if Daigoro... was to choose the tanto... then Ogami would raise his son to become a warrior. A ronin, an assassin-for-hire along with his father. The child sat there for five minutes, staring at both the ball and the sword, unconsciously working through it all in his mind. As Ogami watched, Daigoro moved from his sitting position into a crawl. Another thirty seconds dragged by, but the boy continued to crawl along and move towards the tanto, placing his hand onto the hilt and looking up at his father with a pair of innocent and childish eyes. Ogami... couldn't help but burst into tears. For his own son, his own flesh and blood, had both chosen to take up a path alongside his father, but also as a cursed warrior. Daigoro would forever walk the path of blood, taking up arms against those who he called enemies, despite not always wanting to. So Ogami couldn't help but cry bittersweet tears, and hope that this all turned out well in the end. Because if his own son died because of this interest as a warrior, then Ogami would not rest until he had completely paid for it, which would end with his own death.

Thus began his son's training. Even though he was only one year old, Ogami was a harsh teacher before he was a loving father. Knowing that they were on the run meant that Ogami couldn't afford to be soft on this child. The pair travelled by day, following well-used trade routes through well-populated cities. Ogami reasoned that the clan that killed their family wouldn't follow them through populated areas; in fact, he was almost completely right. They didn't strike while they were travelling these well-populated routes. They struck at night, when Ogami was watching over his son. It came quickly, the first blade going to strike down onto Ogami's head. The man used his already-honed senses to react at a high speed, turning around quickly and bringing out his own sword to block the attack. Sparks shone out into the night. Ogami turned sharply, seeing the masked man behind him and thrusting his sword at speed. The man never had the chance to even dodge, as Ogami's dotanuki sword made it's way through flesh and bone, forced out the other side of the man's body and killing him quickly. Daigoro hadn't even woken up, and Ogami returned to his usual watch over his son, keeping a close eye on the boy, but another one over his shoulder. This happened at least once a week, and so Ogami decided to train Daigoro harder, and by the time he was three, Daigoro was able to use his tanto as proficiently as one twenty times his age. But that was the only weapon he could use, and he had been trained to use it as a knife, holding it backhand as he fought practice dummies. Daigoro would adopt this style as his own hand-to-hand and generally bladed combat style over the years.

However, this training time with his father was not to last. For... there was something new on the horizon, by the name of Retsudo Yagyu. This man was the one who had ordered the killing of Ogami's family, and the subsequent framing of Ogami himself. This man was the one who wanted his family to take the power of the Shogun Decapitator; so he could add it to the power of the spy system and official assassins. And this man confronted Ogami and Daigoro over a field of bodies, members of the Yagyu family that had been slaughtered by Ogami himself; Daigoro taking down a few men on his own. Ogami turned to Retsudo in the end, and brought his sword down to attack the man. Their blades clashed loudly, and they fought for an hour together, locked in a dance of death. One seeking vengeance, the other power. Ogami's sword was strong, and his attacks swift, but something happened that he had never counted on happening in his lifetime. The dotanuki sword, the one that had survived a lifetime of battles, finally shattered from fatigue, falling to pieces around Ogami and Retsudo. Ogami's end was swift, despite his attempts to fight with a shattered blade, and his meifumado (“Road to Hell”, a term used for a path taken for revenge) finally ended with his spirit leaving his body in peace. But there was no peace to be seen on the battlefield. For Daigoro, having seen his mother's body slump into nothing two-and-a-half years ago, was now watching his father do the same, with a sword through the stomach. He couldn't contain himself, and through angered tears and roaring shouts, Daigoro picked up a spear on the ground, one that had been left by Retsudo. The young boy rushed over the hill of bodies, through the forest of swords, towards the Giant One that had destroyed the only thing that he'd ever loved. And Retsudo didn't resist. He opened his arms wide. He let Daigoro drive the spear into his body, and then embraced the child, holding the young man, hair stained by his own family's blood. The man wept, and Daigoro wept, burying his face into the dying man's chest, looking for salvation. As he pulled away and opened his eyes, blood-stained tears were the next to drop, falling into the eyes of the child. It is not understood why, but that phenomenon caused his own eyes to be stained red as well, with the blood of his enemies. As Retsudo died, the man's words emanated in Daigoro's head.

The child was found in the midst of the bodies and rubble. They didn't know how he had arrived there, and they weren't sure of exactly why he was in the arms of a man with a spear through his chest. All they saw was this young, red-haired child, crying about the death of these two men beside him. And they could only watch as the boy stood up and walked over to his father, kneeling down beside him and kissing him on the forehead. That's when they stepped forwards and picked up this young boy, giving him love and compassion, something that he had never truly been able to receive since his mother died. His father had tried to give him this as a tool to strengthen his heart, but he had never truly felt it from him, as if there was something missing from it. This was the first time, and Daigoro relished it, holding the elderly man close despite not knowing who he was. The man's name was Oda Kabuto, an old farmer in the poorer regions of Western Japan. He and his wife were infertile, and so to find this abandoned boy was like a dream come true for them. They took him in and began to raise him as if he was one of their own, teaching him how to work around the farm, and the like. This was about the year 1584.

Daigoro became a farm-child, tilling the fields with his new father, and then working around the house with his new mother. Unlike most children who would become lazy, or dislike the work that they were doing, Daigoro relished this. It gave him the chance to learn from his new parents, and the child-of-soaked-blood took every chance he could to learn as much of the language and etiquette of the world from them as possible. Friends of Kabuto and his wife saw Daigoro, and called him “demon” and “oni-spawn”, seeing his red hair and eyes before actually speaking to the rather amicable child. Instead, he was only accepted by his parents, seeking solace in them, learning, trying his hardest to become someone that the public might accept. Despite being hated by everyone, he only wanted to become friendly with them, and try to make some sort of friendship with other villagers. So by the time Daigoro was five years of age, he had become, well, someone who could be respected, as opposed to someone to be feared. This young boy knew how to speak properly to the masses already, and was a charismatic gem.

The years went on, and Daigoro slowly trained himself to become more of a public speaker. He was beginning to understand it now, why the people hated him. And so he decided that he was going to fix it, covering his head up with a wrap when he went to speak, hiding away the red locks that the populace hated him for. As he slowly came to this understanding, he met his first love. Fourteen years old, he was. Fifteen years old, was she. Their eyes met across a table, and they began to converse. It was a simple conversation, at first. They just started talking about random things, and continued to speak to each other. It was as if there was nothing else to it. Daigoro began to do his chores around the farm faster, making sure he got it done so he could meet up with her later in the day, in the town. He didn't know it at the time, but he'd fallen in love with her. When he actually thought it over it seemed strange, but being by her side just felt natural to Daigoro. Although he hadn't originally planned on it, he eventually decided that he would take the farm off his parents when they grew older, and he knew that he needed a wife, someone who could possibly bear children for him. Even though he was only fifteen by this time, he was at that level where he could understand this need, simply because his childhood had ended when he was six months old.

He had planned on proposing to this woman, when he turned eighteen. The relationship between Daigoro Ito and Kanzaki Moui was one that lasted for the entire time, Daigoro courting her when he could, and Kanzaki listening and taking it in her stride. She was, to say the least, in love with him too, and expecting some kind of proposal from the young man. And so it came, Daigoro's eighteenth birthday. It was a day like any other, Daigoro celebrating for a while with his family before taking his leave and travelling to the town to meet up with Kanzaki, whom he was going to propose to that day. The young Blood-Head continued down the path, before feeling a wind blow past him, and a large group of horses trample the earth at his side, knocking him away. Dai was unable to do anything as he flew off the road, blasted by the sheer power that the horses exuded with their wind, landing off the road and sliding a small distance. The horses travelled into the town, and Dai managed to get up, mostly uninjured, and follow along without too much argument with himself as to their reasoning.

He entered the town as he would, and found one of the horsemen locked in an argument with a young woman. Closer inspection revealed the soft features of the woman that he loved, and he couldn't do anything. He couldn't do anything as the bandit picked Kanzaki up. He couldn't do anything as the bandit climbed onto his horse. And he couldn't do anything as they were carried away. He could only watch. He could only watch with a pair of red eyes, brimmed with tears of rage and sadness. This was the first of the “Turning Points” of Daigoro's life, a group of moments that he decided that he needed to change himself and fix a part of his morals and mind. This “Turning Point” was the one that caused Dai to decide that he needed to be stronger. He needed to be strong enough to protect the ones that he loved, and so... he joined the Western Japanese Army, almost immediately finding himself placed under General Mitsunari Ishida, whom he instantly found amazing; swearing full loyalty to the man.

And then came the day of truth, the Battle of Sekigahara. This was the decisive battle between the armies of Western Japan, and the armies of Eastern Japan. 21 October, 1600, and Dai was, sadly, on the losing side. With a polearm in one hand, and a shield in the other, Daigoro began to attack as many soldiers as he could, sticking around Ishida and making careful sure that he protected the man. They lay siege to Fushimi Castle on July 19, eventually moving to Sekigahara. Even though the western forces had tremendous tactical advantages, Ieyasu had already contacted many daimyo on the western side, promising them land and leniency after the battle should they switch sides. Notably several western commanders holding key positions were lured over to the Tokugawa cause.

Kikkawa Hiroie and Kobayakawa Hideaki were two such commanders. They were in such positions that if they decided to close in on the eastern forces, they would in fact have Ieyasu surrounded on three sides. However, Kikkawa Hiroie, who was a retainer of the Mori clan, believed that Ieyasu would ultimately be victorious, and made a secret pact to keep his clan out of the combat. Hiroie's troops formed the front lines of the Mori army, which was commanded by his cousin Mori Hidemoto. When Hidemoto decided to attack the Tokugawa forces, Hiroie refused to comply, claiming fogs prevented movement. This in turn prevented the Chosokabe army, which deployed behind the Mori clan, from attacking.
Even though Kobayakawa had responded to Ieyasu's call, in the actual battle he was hesitant and remained neutral. As the battle grew more intense, Ieyasu finally ordered arquebusiers to fire at Kobayakawa's position on Mount Matsuo in order to force Kobayakawa to make his choice. At that point Kobayakawa joined the battle on the eastern side. His forces assaulted Yoshitsugu's position, which quickly fell apart as he was already engaging Tōdō Takatora's forces. Seeing this as an act of treachery, western generals such as Wakisaka Yasuharu, Ogawa Suketada, Akaza Naoyasu, and Kutsuki Mototsuna immediately switched sides, turning the tide of battle.
The western forces disintegrated afterwards, and the commanders scattered and fled. Some, like Ukita Hideie managed to escape. Many others did not. Shima Sakon was shot and wounded by a round from an arquebus and Ōtani Yoshitsugu committed suicide. Mitsunari, Yukinaga and Ekei were some of those who were captured and a few, like Mōri Terumoto and Shimazu Yoshihiro were able to return to their home provinces. Mitsunari himself would be executed. Daigoro... died in this battle. Even as the fight went on, he soaked the earth with the blood of several enemies; but there was too much for him. His blade struck and struck again, but he was finally wounded by a sword to the chest, a single slash knocking the redhead back. He tried to strike back at the one who had wounded him, but another polearm was driven into his stomach. Daigoro attempted to struggle, but he couldn't do anything, as his vision faded into nothing. Nothing... nothing... no...thin...g...

Daigoro never really spent much time as a soul. When he died, his chain of fate was instantly severed, and Daigoro was left without the chance to return to his human body. He wandered the battlefield of the dead for about an hour, watching the events that transpired just after his death, and the subsequent capture of Ishida. His red eyes locked onto a figure in black approaching him, his red eyes staring at the figure that was appearing. He stepped back slightly and placed a hand on where his polearm would've been, realizing that now he was dead, he didn't hold his weapon anymore. The figure approached closer, and Daigoro took another step back, staring at the Shinigami without realizing exactly what it was. He was instead prepared to run away, obviously worried that this mysterious figure might be here to do something that he particularly didn't need. But... he couldn't move.

The frightened redhead was glued to the spot, staring at the spot where the figure clad in black was walking towards him. His lips, quivering at speed, slowly opened, and he tried to let out a scared cry. But no sound left his lips, and all that was left to happen was for Daigoro to watch as the grey-haired man finally made it to him and stood right in front of him. At that point, the entire world around Daigoro and this man stopped. There was nothing but silence surrounding them, and Daigoro could only watch. The Shinigami's hand raised into the air with the sword in his hand being slowly drawn, and that man spoke three words to our redhead. ”Rest in peace.” He brought down the sword quickly, and the end touched itself into Dai's forehead, the Soul Rest complete. Daigoro felt himself grow light and disappear... and he was scared for his life. He tried to resist this feeling, even though it felt good. He struggled for a period that felt like forever, and when he finally came to and stopped his resistance... he woke up in Soul Society, in the 72nd District of Rukongai.

Being the son of a disgraced Samurai seemed to have a rather difficult bearing on Daigoro's placement into Rukongai, and because he had died the way he had, he wasn't exactly respected. For someone who had simply died in battle protecting the one that he was loyal to, to find himself among cut-throats, and people who died as criminals on death row, intimidated him. Although he was “Blood-Head” by name to these men, he could never relate to them. As such, he was always at the bottom end of the food chain, finding himself as the first and last one to be hassled for favors and the like, yet never being truly repaid for his services in return. In fact, he almost always paid for things in blood as well. Daigoro was discovered as the 'target' of the rage of a lot of the citizens. As such, there was not a day that went by where Dai wasn't beaten, bloody or bruised from some form of abuse. So he started to assume that this was... the right way to live. His mind slowly became geared to killing, and he started to follow his “Path of Blood” once more.

He took up the blade, and started to kill for survival. No matter what occurred, his blade would whistle, and their heads would fall to the ground. Daigoro chose to forgo all emotions, and just let himself kill, and kill, and kill. And he enjoyed it. Each kill brought him more pleasure, and each cut just made him all the more ready to continue his killing streak. His blade sang spades to him, and this was the birth of “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood.” It is claimed that, during this time, Daigoro lost himself to the winds forever, however... that is only part of the truth. For “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” was hidden within his mind the entire time, Daigoro finally managing to get a hold of it, calling it “FeralMind”. He himself didn't truly understand this entity that he was, but he was making damn sure that he learned how to understand it, so help him god. One of his more notable periods as “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” was during the end of the Kaiesho Gang, however that will be explained more later.

After the Kaiesho Gang massacre, Daigoro realized that there was something wrong with the way that he was living his life right now. Despite his best intentions, the Path of Blood followed him everywhere, and he couldn't avoid it like he thought he was. There came a time when he decided that this wasn't worth it, and upon discovering his own spiritual energy, Daigoro Ito immediately travelled to the Seireitei. He walked throughout Rukongai, looking for the way to get in, and a way to become something that he had only heard stories about: The defenders of the peace, the destroyers of evil, the Soul Reapers, the Shinigami of Soul Society. He wanted to join their ranks, he wanted to become one of them, in hopes that maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to find a way to resist the FeralMind while in them. It took him two-hundred years to realize this fact, but when he did, he wouldn't stop pursuing it until he either got it... or died trying...

”Haaah... Haaah...” Small and ragged breaths left the mouth of the red-haired soul, as he slowly re-drew the blade from the sheath beside him. He gave a small, slightly cruel smile, staring through the window of the house as he watched the people within. They were going about their daily lives, unaware of the truth that lay outside. If one were to look behind Him, they would be able to see it: There were bodies everywhere, and none of them seemed to have had a chance. One man was laying on the ground, pieces of his fingers sliced to bits, his throat slit and blood covering the grass beneath him. The woman that had been standing next to him hadn't fared well either, she had been the first to die, and yet the least gruesome of the group. But, by far the worst body of the lot lay in the very centre of the small garden. At least, part of it did. It's stomach did, and an unrecognisable and bloody head was stuck on a nearby tree-branch, the flesh of the face literally ripped off, revealing the muscle and bone beneath. A short distance away, a single leg. On the top of the wall, half of a hand. This was all due to the work of a single man, one who didn't seem to fall to attacks, simply moving between them and cutting them down, one at a time.

And now... this figure, this lone figure with the blood-stained hair and clothing watched closely through the window, staring at these people with a feral grin on his face. Oh? There was someone walking towards the door; most likely to walk out and tell these 'people' something. He looked at them carefully. They were a female. This woman was of rather short stature, but there was a look of strength in her eyes. She must have been a mother, she must have had children. Yes... that would be true. The hand on her stomach, it denoted pregnancy. That meant that there were two lives walking out of that house... the blade was raised to a mouth, and a tongue ran down the edge. Two lives to destroy. He started to stalk her, moving silently to the door where she'd be coming out, hiding behind a wall and watching, listening, waiting. Footsteps, and then the sound of an opening door. The footsteps began again, and then:

”Hey, guys! Come, dinner is rea--” She never got the chance to finish her statement. Even as she had started speaking, He had emerged and made his way behind her, grabbing her chest with one arm, and placing his other, gleefully-shaking hand over her mouth. The red eyes were wild, and He dragged the woman away, far from the door, and towards the window where he had been looking through before. His hand that had been around her chest went to her hair, and he thrust her against the wall, forcing her to stare through the window with a contorted and ugly grin. He let her stare for a few seconds, before leaning in and whispering silky-smooth words into her ear.

”You know... they're going to start wondering where you are, soon enough.” Small whimpers of pain came from the mouth behind his hand, but he didn't pay any heed to it, still speaking into her ear and staring through the window, ”They'll come out here, and see my... works. Yes, yes, my works. And when they see my works, they'll be so happy, that they'll just shout with glee.” He was careful not to raise his voice, lest the people within the house heard him. Instead, he let go of her hair and picked the blade up from the ground. He slowly raised it to her neck, feeling her pulse quicken and her breathing rapidly increase. She was scared, that was good. The man put a leg over her back, straddling her and holding the blade closer, pushing the edge against the flesh of her throat. The blade pressed into the skin and started to draw a small amount of blood that ran down the blade. He cackled softly, bringing it in closer and drawing more blood, inciting whimpers of pain from the woman that he hadn't heard before.

”It'll all be over... in a second.” He dug the blade in deep and drew it across at speed, slitting her throat with ease. Her body slumped to the ground, and He raised his hand up into the air, staring at the blood that was staining his hand with sticky liquid. He brought the hand in closer and ran a sharp-looking tongue down the flesh of his hand, lapping up the blood with a sultry smile on his face and shuddering from the taste. Blood, blood, glorious blood... just the taste of it, the feel of it would cause him to almost ejaculate. The idea of killing made him feel that good inside, and he would relish it to it's full extent.

Because he'd been so focussed on enjoying himself with this kill, he hadn't been looking through the window. No, he hadn't. And because of this, when he finally heard the shout of the men staring out the door, he could only recoil. Why had “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” no thought of this? Because that was the weakness that this personality carried. And so “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” found himself facing up against multiple people. And unlike the ones before, these men were far more skilled with weapons. And as he raised the blade to his mouth and ran a long and snaking tongue down the sharp edge, they began to run at him, swords in the air.

The first one fell almost immediately. His blade hadn't even unsheathed and the man had fell. “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” had lunged forwards and plunged the sword into his stomach and twisted it, before pulling it out and turning to the side, slicing at the throat of another man and cutting through it, watching him hold his throat and gurgle blood for but a second. The sword slicing through the air made noise, alerting him to the approaching blade. He ducked in a sudden, sliding on the balls of his feet and bringing the tanto around, cutting through the leg and causing him to lose balance on that leg and tumble forwards. “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” reacted instantly and drew the blade out and forwards, plunging it into the man's eye and piercing his brain. He held it there for but a second before slowly drawing the blade out and letting the man fall to the ground. His mouth opened a mite, and he suddenly threw his head back with a pair of fiery eyes, laughing with maniacal glee.

Ten minutes of laughing and screaming later, and the blade of “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” was finally resheathed. He gave a gleeful chuckle and wiped the blade on the clothing of one of the deceased, sliding it into the sheath and cackling while looking over the dead. He bowed his head for a single second, and then looked back and and ran off into the distance, trying his hardest to avoid anyone that he could or would find. He would wake up in the morning with few memories of this, but the memories that he did have, he would use to push that entity away into the recesses of his mind...

He applied to the Shinigami Academy, this random young soul from Rukongai. He was unconfident, unsure of himself, and scared of the FeralMind possibly returning at the wrong time. But they didn't see that, as Daigoro had thrown up his own barrier, one of nonchalance and safety. This was the time that he really began to become one who was seemingly uncaring while still caring completely, and it got him through and into the Academy. From there, Daigoro's already-honed skills with the blade proved useful. As his skills grew with the blade, he found himself both welcomed and alienated by his own right. Daigoro, although popular, chose the silence of the world over the chatter of others for self-training.

However, it was here that Daigoro discovered his weakness. It was quite a large weakness, too. Even with months' worth of practice, Daigoro couldn't get Kidō. His attempt at the simplest spells left him with either a burnt hand or a burnt something else, and he would always miss the target when he succeeded in actually firing the Kidō without it exploding in his face. It got to the point where it was more of a frustration than anything, at least for Dai and his teachers. As the weeks went on, Daigoro slowly lost his will to continue Kidō, despite being able to perform the basics now. So he started to skip these classes, taking this chance to practice the one thing that he had discovered that he could do well.

Shunpo. Daigoro began to learn Shunpo. He found that he had talent in this, it seemed. Whenever he started to move faster, he felt himself just melt away into nothingness, and travelling at this speed was something he loved. Because of this, while the other students were in their Kidō lessons, Daigoro skipped and went to practice his Shunpo. At the start of all of this, his teachers looked down on him for this, tut-tutting and telling him that he'd never get anywhere from this style of learning. He ignored them, instead choosing to let himself continue practicing, and they eventually just stopped caring for his disdain for Kidō. As he continued to learn... he quite often found himself running into walls, and trees, and everything else under the sun. He didn't know it at the time, but the pain and injury on his body was slowly growing lower, and lower, to a point where he'd be able to run into a tree and simply continue onwards, unfazed.

For some reason, while he was in the Shinigami Academy, Daigoro had nothing to worry about when it came to the FeralMind. It never appeared while he was training, and it never appeared at any points of heavy emotion for him. He relished this entire time, and yet it eventually came to pass that he would actually have to leave the Academy at some point. No mater how much he loved it there... He finally graduated. When asked if he had a preference, he chose the Second Division. It was a rash, not really well-thought-out choice, and one that was ever-so-slightly perpetuated by the FeralMind's affect on his rational thinking. The fact that the Second Division was a Division of
assassins and murderers was something that “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” wanted. That very fact caused him to take his place among the Second Division and it's assassins; Daigoro decided that he didn't mind this, at least for now.

Despite his enjoyment of the life that he had made within the Gotei 13, Daigoro found something lacking. He loved working for the Shinigami, but he couldn't understand their morals. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to serve them in the same way that he thought that he'd be able to, maybe it was to do with the clash of his morals and with theirs? The redhead had pondered this often, and finally understood what it was...

”If we wish to destroy the Arrancar... we must destroy the Hollow. If we wish to destroy the Hollow... we must destroy the humans. If we destroy the humans... that would be the end of the Shinigami. I cannot find myself following such a foolish moral completely.”

That one statement, that one affirmation. That was the thing that changed Daigoro's loyalties forever. When Daigoro was sent out on a patrol at one time, he found himself confronted by an Arrancar. Although most Shinigami would immediately draw their Zanpakutō and attack, Daigoro didn't. He simply spoke with the man, and they started talking. It took a while, but they started to bond. Daigoro didn't know why, but he rather liked this man, who introduced himself as 'Zefonse Kaizme'. After a while, Zefonse revealed his position. He explained the “Kokuryuteshi”, and their ideals. Daigoro... preferred this. He really did, and so he asked if he could join, but with a catch. He wanted to remain within the Gotei 13, and to see if he could coordinate his movements with them. And from then on, Daigoro was recruited into the Kokuryuteshi, working under the Stone Cross.[/font]

After some time in the Kokuryuteshi, Daigoro found himself sealed. He didn't understand what had happened, but he had woken up in the Second Division barracks without any real memories, just empty space where his mind should be. The redhead stood up from his bed and looked around, before wandering out into the Seireitei. He didn't quite know where to be going, he just knew that he was going in a general direction, and eventually opened a gate into the real world. This wasn't long after Kin's defeat at the hands of the “good” side, and they had sealed his bankai abilities away, along with his memories, in case he used his bankai against them, and with the hope that he could be a sleeper agent in the future to come.

And on this day, he stepped into the real world, in a small village on the outskirts of Tokyo. He slowly wandered through the village centre, looking around for something, anything. He just wanted to fill this void that he had in the back of his mind. And then... their eyes locked across the crowd, in the way that he had when he was younger. Golden eyes met red, and Daigoro was immediately entranced by this woman. He turned towards her and stepped forwards, walking towards her with a small and kind smile on his face. She had noticed him, and walked towards him as well.

This woman had introduced herself as Kameko, and he introduced himself as “Daigoro”, not thinking to give her his last name. They started to talk. It was just casual conversation, as with everything in Daigoro's past, and yet something just... clicked. As the hours went by, they talked, and talked, and talked. And they didn't stop, until Daigoro noticed that it was dark around them. They agreed to meet up the next day, same time, same place, and parted ways.

For the next few weeks, they met up at the same time. They continued to speak with each other, exchanging stories, and telling tales, and Daigoro eventually found himself doing something he'd never expected; falling in love. He was deeply, and madly, in love with Kameko. But... he couldn't completely hold onto her. No matter how much he felt for her, he... he... he feared the FeralMind too much. He couldn't let himself fall completely in love with her, and he was always sort of detached. But because of this, Daigoro's mind was telling him that she was going to end up hating him. Despite everything... his mind was telling him this, and he hated it. And whenever they met, he felt this foreboding feeling. And this foreboding feeling was obvious in his actions...

But he persevered, and on the fifteenth day, Daigoro spoke the words that would always be engraved in the back of his mind:

They agreed to meet again the next day, and Daigoro left with a feeling in his gut. A feeling that he'd have to tell her the truth the next day. That he couldn't be with her. Because... he needed to protect her from himself. He couldn't let “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” be the end of what they had. He needed to detach. He needed to, he needed to, he needed to!

And then it happened. Kameko... left. Well, it wasn't quite like that. She just didn't arrive at their meeting place. Daigoro was slightly confused, to be honest. Why had she not come back? Did she know that he was going to release this secret? Had she decided to jump ship? Did she... hate him? Daigoro had to find out. So he returned the next day, and the day after that. And for almost three weeks, he returned on each and every day in order to see if Kameko had returned. But on the twenty-first day, he was withheld. His travels to the real world had been noted, and he was held back within Soul Society, unable to escape to the real world, not knowing that she had finally returned, on that day.

So when he finally returned to the meeting spot... he couldn't find her. He wanted to seek her out, and he had to find this woman. For wanting to keep her safe from the FeralMind for so long, he now found himself pining for her, and began to search.

And so he searched. For 150 years, even through everything that occurred, he searched. After 150 years... he just gave up, and started to convince himself that he didn't care anymore. If he convinced himself of that... maybe it wouldn't hurt like it did...

This is known as a “Turning Point” of Daigoro's life, because it gave him a wish to not only protect others, but to try and fight this fear of himself. It also put his mind into the position of where he was able to convince himself that he was not in pain, no matter who asked.

After losing Kameko, Daigoro began to feel his emotions travelling out of control. The woman that had given him purpose, and a reason to retain his sanity, was now gone, and he was left with that emptiness that he couldn't replace after the Kokuryuteshi sealing. His feet took him around the country, wandering, killing Hollow, not really stopping. As the Vice Captain of the Second Division, he focussed on his duties, but he also started to lose sight of himself. This... was a bad thing. This was a bad thing, indeed. Because as Daigoro lost himself, the FeralMind started to find him. He had stepped away from the path that he had forged for himself, and the FeralMind took control.

It took control in the middle of a small city, and Daigoro just... snapped. The FeralMind took control with the fury of hundreds of years of killing intent. The citizens had no chance, and “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” just killed and killed and killed. Blood filled the streets. Body parts littered the earth. Screams resounded within the city. And yet... nobody came to the assistance of the people. “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” was loving this, and just continued to kill, his blade soaked in blood, dripping down from a standing position. He took another step in order to kill another citizen, and...

NO! “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood” just stopped, trying to force the foreign body out of it's system. It was almost as if something had taken control of this feral creature's body, and it was rejecting whatever that control was. Of course... it was the original owner of the body, Daigoro himself. He had managed to awaken within this form and try and take control back, attempting with every ounce of his bodily strength to force the FeralMind back within his own mind, but somehow... he managed to succeed in doing the opposite. As Daigoro's own will pushed, the FeralMind found itself encompassed, and went the only way it felt that it could; out. And as it escaped from Daigoro's body, it was split off into the form that it is seen with now, the pale skin, golden eyes form. It stared at Daigoro through hungry and murderous eyes, watching for it's prey to move. Daigoro stepped back, his eyes widened at the scene before him.

”Y...you...” He shook his head a few times, making sure that what he was seeing was true. This was the real thing, wasn't it? That was the FeralMind, in flesh and blood, outside of Dai's body. Did that make him... incomplete? Dai looked down at his body, seeing that there was something missing. It wasn't visible, but he could feel it. It was... the redhead shook his head and looked back up at the FeralMind. That was what he never wanted to be. That was what he had to destroy, no matter what. And so... Daigoro held out his Zanpakutō and attacked, slicing through the FeralMind's chest with a rage-fuelled cry, creating a large cut across the flesh and clothing. All of a sudden, Dai took in a sharp gasp of breath as a similar cut streaked across his own chest. His eyes widened and he looked down, wondering... no... nononononononono!

”You figured it out, right?” Red eyes met gold as Dai's head snapped up in fear, locking his gaze in with the FeralMind, the thing that could not exist in this world. He'd... ”I'm you, and you're me. So... if I die... guess what?” A sudden grin. The FeralMind lunged forwards, attacking Dai with every iota of strength that it had. He held up his blade, parrying each of the attacks with as much energy as he could muster. But it wasn't working. As the pair skirmished in the middle of the blood-soaked street, Daigoro knew that he didn't stand a chance. Without the FeralMind, he was incomplete. His defense was incomplete, his strength... everything. Even his mind. He had to accept it, but in a different way. Because... it was not the true Daigoro. It may have been “He-Who-Is-Covered-In-Blood”, but it was not what Daigoro saw himself as. That was a fake, and so Dai... would destroy that fake! He lunged forwards, and plunged his blade into the man's stomach, just as the similar blade went into his own.

”Heh... heh... heh... You f-fool...” Dai shook his head and smiled. Nope. He let go of his Zanpakutō and reached out, gripping the FeralMind's shoulders and dragging it in closer to him, taking it in an embrace and forcing it as close as he could to his body, using his own Reiatsu to mingle with, and return, the FeralMind in with his body. ”It isn't over... Ito...” Dai only smiled at this.

”I know. Trust me, I know...”

It had finally happened. Kin had returned from the world of the 'dead', and the Kokuryuteshi had finally be rebuilt. Daigoro didn't know, of course, what his purpose had been, but as he met Zefonse in Soul Society, he began to discover his original purpose. The man, who had spent the past four-hundred years battling with his own identity, was finally finding his place in the world again, and when a small attack on Soul Society occurred, Zefonse confronted him with the truth about his identity... and Daigoro took it in his stride. Because... he knew that was what he truly was, and the hole that had been within his heart all these years was finally filled.

Ba-thump.

Two...becomes...three?

Ba-thump.

Dai went down onto his knees, feeling a strange familiarity about those words, yet not understanding why.

Ba-thump.

He closed his eyes, and shouted out slightly.

Ba-thump. Ba-thump.

What was this pain he felt inside? No, it wasn't pain. It was energy. The redheaded Shinigami got to his feet, and felt the seal on his right hand shatter below the Glaive.

Ba-thump. Ba-thump. BATHUMP. BATHUMBATHUMPBATHUMP!

That was all it needed, and Dai's power coursed out from his body, his Reiatsu increasing in size until it was on par with a high-level Captain's. He stood calmly there, and walked inside the bounds of the halberds, before pulling out a small card and forcing it into the slot on the back of his Glaive.

"Execute!" The card went into the Glaive, and had the kanji on the outside read by scanners in the Glaive, that created a small pool of energy at the tip of Dai's fingers.

"Glaive Seal: Arc Lightning!" He fired the lightning in a way all-too-similar to that of Byakurai, causing it to hit the nearest halberd, and arc between the four, creating a barrier of lightning around them. Anybody who touched it, would most likely be shocked by it. Not injured, just shocked. Dai sighed, glad that he would be limiting the damage, before walking over to Zefonse.

"So. Kin. He's back, is he?" The redhead tilted his head to the side inquiringly, before shaking his head softly.

"Y'know, I'm not going to be able to secede my loyalty to the Gotei 13 that easily. I was a full-time member for 400 years." A lot of his memories had finally returned! That blank spot in his mind, the one he had always dreamed of filling... it was finally full. Hs sighed, and turned towards the other three. It appeared that the Demon and the Vizard were at war with each other, while the Captain was standing behind a wall of crystals. She felt weaker than he did, strangely enough. But that Demon...

The redhead shuddered at the power he felt from her. She was far superior to any of them, even Zefonse. He thought for a second, and put a hand on his old friend's shoulder.

"You're still stronger than me., but I want to test out my abilities. Please step back, old friend." Dai shook his head, and then looked at the wall of crystal. "I'll take on the Captain." He stepped forwards, and the flash-stepped to the top of the wall of crystal - via the use of Reiatsu platforms - looking straight at the woman.

"Your opponent has changed. Due to circumstances, I can no longer call myself a Shinigami of the Gotei 13. I don't want to fight, but I need to test out this new strength. I won't kill you - I won't harm you any more than I need to. Will you spar with me? That's all I ask of you..." He looked down at the distance above the ground he was.

"Uh... Let's do this... on solid ground... Please?"

That was it. The redhead had finally regained his purpose... or had he?

He tried. He really did. He honestly really wanted it to work out. But... he couldn't do it. He saw what the Kokuryuteshi were doing, and although he agreed with their wishes for peace, he couldn't see them going like this. He just couldn't take it anymore, and left. He didn't tell anyone, save for Zefonse, admitting it to the Arrancar the day before. He hoped that Zefonse would keep his intentions a secret. Dai... didn't want enemies. But he couldn't not have them, the way that he was going. And so he went into hiding, within the realms of the Material World. He hid within Karakura and lived as a freelancer, nobody's ally, but nobody's enemy, either. Yet... he still couldn't help but feel empty.

For someone with nothing to protect tries to protect everything. But if you have nothing to lose, then what is there to give to the people?