“Two millennia ago, Yamamoto discovered and took under his wing two special young boys. The very reishi of Soul Society had rent and split with the force of their reiatsu when, one after the other, their reiryoku erupted for the very first time, separately, yet inexplicably entwined.” ~ reflections of Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni in ‘Two Thousand Years Ago’, Chapter 2 of ‘Unforgivable, Regrettable’, Part 1 of the Ukitake-Kyouraku saga ‘In All, But Blood’.
Get the full ShunUki origin stories and saga on AO3.
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(Looking for the artist of above illustration. Please contact me!)
What’s in the story:
How it all really begun, as told by the memories of Yamamoto. Trace the origin stories of Ukitake and Kyouraku, from how they were discovered as boys, to Yamamoto's care and instruction of them, their trials and tribulations, how Yamamoto inadvertently orchestrated the relationship of his two wards, how they achieved shikai, how Ukitake attained bankai, all set in an early, chaotic feudalistic Soul Society ransacked by warring clans and the pre-canon Gotei Thirteen which was less organised and less civilised than the Gotei Thirteen we know today, when the Seireitei had not yet been built.
Shunsui from Yamamoto’s POV:
“Within a week, little Shunsui had explored every nook and cranny of the shiro and crawled at least once into every lap of Yamamoto’s twelve taichou and those of several other adjutants, inciting a small uproar of amusement, indulgence and consternation, for never before had a child been let loose with such impunity among the battle-scarred and war-toughened shinigami souls.”
Jyuushirou from Yamamoto’s POV:
“Raising and nurturing Jyuushirou had been an ordeal which tested Yamamoto in ways he never knew he could still be tested, and to his own astonishment, uncovered in his old battle-hardened soul a softness and humanity he had believed were long burned to cinders.”
Story tidbits:
Samurai and Japanese culture buffs, hyperlinks are embedded throughout the story to explain Japanese things, term and concepts. Loving attention are paid to the swords :D