CHAPTER 1:
As it was is as it is
"…and…and I was wearing a red dress, with some polka dots on them…it's my favorite dress …"
The young girl said joyfully as her voice pitched up.
"…Yes…yes…I see…but what's your name?...where were you from?..."
A middle aged man said grumpily interrupting her.
The young girl looked quizzically up to him, he seemed in a hurry, but not to leave, more to keep her talking…
"hmmm…..well…" She scratched her head as she thought "….hmmmm…Sa…Saa…SAYURI!...yep that's it! Sayuri…and I was wearing a red polka dot dress and was on my way to the movies with my Mom. We were going to see that movie ab-…"
She was interrupted again by the grumpy man…
"No…no…I mean…yes…yes… that is all fine and good. Look, we don't have a lot of time Sayuri. What's your SURname? You know…you're LAST or your FAMILY name?"
He emphasized it so she understood his intentions.
She looked quizzically at the older man again, what did he mean? "We don't have a lot of time?" The old man had been so kind to her, she had woken up scared and alone in a field near a dirt road and he happened by just as she was beginning to cry. He heard her and gave her a little candy, and then they were on their way down the road to some special town. He had assured her all would be better once they got to that town.
"hmmm….noo…well..hmmmm…mmmmmm…no I can't think of it…i'm sorry..."
She replied back as she scratched the back of her head and murmured to herself a little.
"ugh…"
The man grunts, his head sinking slightly as they walked down the road.
"Are you sure Sayuri-chan?...can't you think just a bit harder...you really don't have a lot of time."
She started to scratch her head again to think. This WAS weird. Why COULDN'T she think of her own last name? Why was this so hard? Where was she? Where was her Mom? Where was her Dad? Who was this guy? Why did he look like he was straight out of some old Samurai movie? In fact, why did SHE look like she was in one?. She tugged a the little purple and white kimono she was wearing.
Sayuri started to panic, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Then she started to look around a bit frantically. The older man looked at her understandably, noticing these characteristics immediately. This wasn't the first time he had seen a new soul start to freak out a bit at what was going on to them, as their memory started to fade and their new reality began to set it. He stopped on the road and moved in front of her and knelt looking at her in her eyes before resting his hand on her shoulder lightly. He wasn't so gruff looking anymore.
"Hey...hey now…Sayuri, it's ok…it's ok…Like I said before, once we get to the town up ahead there will be people there to help you out. And I'll make sure to stay with you until then ok?…I really wish I could explain better, but I just can't…"
He paused for a moment and looked down to the ground then back up into her tearing eyes.
"See, I'm looking for someone too…"
His eyes and face lit up a bit…
"…I'm looking for my wife…I haven't seen her in so long...so I know what you are feeling right now…you feel helpless, right?"
She nodded slightly to him as she wiped away her tears.
"Yeah…well that is how I feel too, and the only way to not feel that way is to try to do something about it ok? ...which is why I am taking you to the special town…understand?"
She nodded silently to him.
"…See though, the only way for me to get help is by asking people like you about themselves in hopes that they maybe remember something about MY family… and my wife."
As finished he looked at her with sincere eyes she nodded pretty much understanding him, but he still was kind of confusing. She then rubbed her temples a bit and spoke.
"...well….like I said…I was in the car with my mom, wearing my pretty polka dot red dress on our way to see a movie….when…"
Her eyes widen, and her mouth opened. The older man looked on, puzzled for a moment, before realizing what she was beginning to remember: her mortal death.
"ww…we..we were driving…and…and then my Momma….my Momma…she looked over to me with her big pretty eyes which were all teary…and she hugged me tight…..and she…she yelled….and Momma never yelled/ She yelled...she said Sayuri!...SAYURI I LOVE YOU!"
The man squeezed her shoulder as she spoke to him, her tears coming back in full force as she stood there mouth hanging open as her sadness was heard clearly in her voice now. She cried to her self for a a few moments asthe old man squeezed her shoulder trying to console her. Then she gathered herself a little and spoke again.
"…and...and then I woke up back there where you found me in these weird clothes…but my Momma wasn't there… She was trying to save me from something, but now she's gone….where …where's my Momma mister?"
She cried softly to the man.
He looked on with sympathetic eyes, it really wasn't right for him to question her right now. Then he squeezed her shoulder tight, and pulled her close for a big hug, her tears wetting his shirt.
"I don't know…I don't know Sayuri…but it's ok…it's ok..."
He let her hug him until she was tired, and then he pulled away from her gently and looked into her eyes.
"Sayuri…I…I am so sorry… I don't know where she is…"
He tried to smile at her warmly as he stood up taking her little hand into his.
"Come on…let's just take this one step at a time and get to the town…maybe she is there…and at the very least, there will be people there who can help you…maybe even help you find her…"
He said that last part knowing it was all but a lie, as the chances of her finding her Mother at this point were practically zero, but that was not his duty to do, and besides, it was not going to help her to know that right now.
She was still tearing up as they began to walk on again, sniffling every now and then. The man stayed quiet, but did not let go of her small hand. After a few miles, the young girl stopped crying. He looked down to her and she then looked up to him.
"Hey…so what's YOUR name?"
The man smiled at her gracious request…and responded kindly.
"My name is Shin Goto…but you can call me Shin if you like"
He smiled and squeezed her a hand a bit.
She nodded her head to him and said almost joyfully in that childlike way of trying to act older than they are.
"Nice to meet you Shin…my name is Sayuri…Sayuri ...TAKAMORI!"
She jumped up and down happily as she said her last name.
"Takamori!...That's my last name!...I can't believe I finally remembered it…"
Shin's eyes widen at her outburst as he looked down to her surprised as they continued to walk. He then grinned, his eyes closing and his head bowing politely to her.
"Well..Nice to meet you Sayuri Takamori…"
It was quite a few steps along the road before he realized his own mission and duty again. She wasn't a Goto, he thought to himself and sighed slightly, though it shouldn't have bothered him so much, as in all the years of his family's searching they had yet to find even one female Goto family member.
They continued to walk for a few miles in relative silence, Sayuri's temperament much higher after she remembered her name. But still she remained quiet, as if with each step a memory from her mortal life faded away.
Passing a soft end in the road, Shin pointed down a small hill.
"Look…there it is. The only 'New Soul Town' in the Rukongai's Eastern 3rd District".
He said it with a slight smile, purposely forgetting to name the town as it would only perplex her even more.
She quirked her brow and looked down the hill, but just as fast as she was confused, she was happy as her thoughts of being reunited with her Mother came into her head, even though she was beginning to forget why she was so worried as to where she was in the first place. Still, she and Shin hurried their pace slightly as they descended the sloped road down to the town.
As they entered the town, Sayuri thought to herself.
"This place looks old like some 'traditional' town from my school books or an old movie."
Coming closer they saw many people hustling about, and quite a few VERY long lines of people of all sorts of ages who held bundles of paperwork in their hands or under their arms. At the heads of each line was a small desk where two black-robed people sat. One was talking with the person in line while the other was reading their paperwork and making notations on it. As Shin and Sayuri passed one of the lines, a black-robed older woman, looked over tiredly right at Sayuri. Sayuri looked down and away shyly, but as she did she noticed that the older black robed woman had a SWORD tucked into a white belt around her waist. Sayuri tightened her grip on Shin's hand and pressed herself closer to him as they went on.
Shin felt her tightening grip and noticed what she saw. He continued on, but said to her quickly and softly.
"Don't be afraid…those are good people…they're here to help…"
Sayuri nodded a bit as she looked back, even though she didn't entirely believe Shin as she though,
"How could anyone carrying a sword be 'helpful' to me?"
Shin seemed to be leading Sayuri somewhere specific, and not directly into one of these lines. They came to an old and weathered small bamboo building that had a small porch and where sitting in a swinging bench was a young and pretty woman who was looking out calmly towards the long lines of people. She was wearing those black robes with a white belt and in it was a red hilted sword. The woman looked at Shin as he and Sayuri approached from out of the crowded street. She seemed to recognize him and smiled as they came closer.
Sayuri stayed close to Shin as they walked up to the porch and stopped. Sayuri hid a bit behind Shin and peered around him to look at the woman. She had long braided black hair and on her lapel looked like a little silver "4".
Shin looked to her and smiled lightly nodding his head to her respectfully, his tone was casual and friendly.
"Hey, Mina-sama…I got a special one for ya here…she's looking for her Mother…I told her you could help her out…"
Then his expression changed as he motioned down to the girl, his eyes full of concern as he knew he was asking the black-robed woman for a favor.
Mina looked at him sternly for a moment, acknowledging his request and thinking to herself. Then a large smile came over her face as she rose from her seat and took a few steps forward and knelt on one knee in front of Sayuri. Sayuri was still shyly hiding a little, but she peered out from behind Shin with one eye.
"Hey there kid…no need to worry…my name's Mina Sakaguchi, 4th Seat of the 6th Court Guard Squad…and I run this little town, and my WHOLE job is to help out people just like you!"
She said warmly as she extended her hand to the little girl.
"Now why don't you come with me and we can talk about your Mom and maybe I can explain a bit of what's going on…make some more sense of this weird place…"
She smiled, her hand still outstretched to Sayuri…then leaning in a bit more she whispered playfully.
"…I know…it's like we're all in an old Samurai movie right?"
Shin nudged Sayuri a little bit, getting her to release his hand.
"Go ahead Sayuri…it's ok…she's here to help…and she's going to take good care of you…"
Sayuri looked up to Shin with sad eyes.
"W…wwait… you are leaving Shin-kun?... b…but.."
He interrupted her.
"I told you..I'm looking for my family too…I've got to try to find my wife right? Plus, this is a place for NEW souls…and I'm a pretty old one right?"
He smiled down to her as she nodded back a moment later in response.
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a couple more pieces of candy, which he kept out of habit for times just like this. He handed them to her, smiling.
"Here…take these…"
She took them tentatively and nodded to Shin. Then she looked right at Mina, who still had her hand outstretched and whose warm happy eyes and face awaited her. Sayuri popped a piece of candy in her mouth and then slowly moved from behind Shin and took Mina's hand.
Shin stepped aside as Sayuri moved to Mina. Who then opened her eyes and stood up holding Sayuri's hand.
"Come on, let's go sit on my swing and talk…"
As they moved towards the porch and swing, Shin looked at the little girl, remembering back to his first day in Soul Society. Even if he was older than she was when he arrived, he still remembered being just as confused and scared. They didn't have any 'New Soul Towns' when he got here. These towns were so much better for new souls, better than just blindly figuring it out like he had to. It was only a matter of luck (and family prerogative) that a Goto family member found him and explained what was going on.
Sayuri looked back sadly as they ascended the porch to the swinging bench. Shin raised his hand and waved to them both.
"I'll see you later Sayuri… You take care of yourself!"
He then looked to Mina who was looking right at him, nodding with respect and knowing he now owed her. She nodded back to him very slightly.
"Byeeee Shin!...I hope you find your wife!"
Sayuri said with a happy and thankful tone.
Shin waved once more and then moved off, making his way North, out of the town. As he did, two more black-robed shinigami from the 6th Division whom Shin knew, 'Michisaburo Tachikawa' and 'Asuya Tosa', came running up. They seemed to be on their way from the Seretei, probably to see Mina.
As they approached, Shin blurted out.
"What are you two in such a hurry for?"
Michisaburo kept on going, but Asuya slowed up and looked back, noticing Shin from a far off and knowing he should respond due to Shin's prominent relative.
Asuya backpedaled as he passed and spoke to Shin.
"Hi Shin-san. They just announced that the new Captain of the 8th Division is going to be named in a few days…we're on our way to relieve the 4th Seat so she can get back to the Seretei per the 6th Division Captain's orders. Now, I gotta run…Later Shin!"
He then spun back around and headed on his way.
"A new 8th Division Captain eh?...I guess my older brother has been busy."
Shin thought to himself as he continued on his way North out of the town in search of any other new souls.
This is my first try at fan-fiction. I am all for as much feedback as I can get, including critique, recommendations, and even suggestions for potential future plot devices, characters, or powers you think might be cool. All suggestions and thoughts are welcome! Ya never know what might inspire!
Just PM me!
Aaron (thejager)
PS. Edits in these stories may happen, as i try to fix mistakes of all kinds.
DISCLAIMER: The Bleach Universe is a creation of Tite Kubo and any character or plot is solely his property and not mine.
All original characters and plots in this story are, however, my creation and mine and mine alone.
This disclaimer holds true for all following chapters.