Mists: Beyond the Veil of Death
A/N: Okay. Before you read this story, you need to have read the first chapter of the Naruto-side to this story, Mists. The first chapter of this story begins right after the events in chapter 1 of Mists. The Mists universe is intertwined together, but will not become apparent until much farther into the series. The bleach half to Mists follows the story of Minato Namikaze in Soul Society. The chapters will be shorter compared to Mists; but that is only so that I can keep updating at a decent pace. Mists: Beyond the Veil is intended to be read alongside Mists, but both can be read as a standalone fic.
The same rules apply to this fic as they do in Mists. Rated T for now. Mult-genre. Not going to announce pairings. No blatant bashing of any characters. Please R&R. Thanks!
Chapter One: A new Mission
Minato didn't really know what he had expected walking through the gate with the shinigami. Whatever it was, he had not expected expected anything like this.
After entering the senkaimon (that's what the girl had called it) he had found himself atop a large grassy hillside. All around him were massive white buildings and marble structures. In the distance he could see a large wall that appeared to be surrounding the city. Gazing into the sky he noticed it was a very clear blue. He took a deep breath of the air, it was clean and refreshing. Minato examined his body. He was no longer wearing his shinobi gear. Instead he was wearing ordinary gray pants and shirt lined in black trim. Something seemed different, but he couldn't quite figure out what was wrong. He felt...perfect. He felt so light and he no longer felt any of the old pains from earlier. It was like being in a new body. He stretched his limbs and tested his muscles. He was in perfect shape, in fact, he felt great! His mounting excitement was cut off by the young girl's voice calling out to him. "Are you coming? Or are you going to stand there all day?".
Looking up he realized she was already at the bottom of the hill heading towards the city. Minato quickly began to jog down the hill towards her. As he jogged he began to notice how easy it was to move here, wanting to push himself a little he broke into a sprint, and then a full run down the hill.
The young girl had a look of slight amusement as he approached her. "You seem pretty excited for a man who just died."
Those simple words squashed the excitement out of him instantly. She was right, he had just died. It was strange, he didn't feel dead. He hadn't even felt himself dying. He was just...dead now. As they walked sidebyside through the tiled streets of the white city, Minato couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to him now. Deciding it would be best just to wing it, and accept whatever was coming, he began to ask the girl about where they were.
"We are in Soul Society", she said simply. "and this", she gestured to the buildings around her. "Is the Seireitei."
Minato looked around, they had yet to come across any other shinigami yet, it seemed to just be the two of them here. "So what exactly is the Seireitei?"
The girl guided him down a seemingly random street and then answered. "The Seireitei is where the Soul Reapers live."
As they travelled through the white city, the young girl explained about Soul Reapers, and the 13 Court Guard Squads. She explained that their duty was to guide souls that are lost in the land of the living into Soul Society. She also explained that they also were responsible for exterminating monsters called Hollows. She explained that Hollows were born from wicked souls, or lost souls that were unable to find peace in death. These Hollows mutate into monsters who can possess powers that rival that of the Soul Reapers. The Hollows live in a place called Hueco Mundo, and occasionally broke into the land of the living in order to feast on lost souls.
Minato was fascinated by the information, he never would have expected the afterlife to be anything like this. "So is that wall supposed to keep Hollows out?"
The girls demeanor changed slightly at the question before it shifted back to her casual-businesslike manner. "Yes and no. It does keep Hollows out, should they ever be able to enter Soul Society, but it is also there to separate the Soul Reapers from the inhabitants of Rukongai."
Minato gestured for her to continue, "And Rukongai is?"
"That is where souls live while they wait to enter Heaven. Most people end up joining together into families in order live more comfortably. Some parts of Rukongai are very harsh place to live, there are many who live on the streets."
Minato nodded in understanding, but did not comment. "So, where are we going?"
"We are going to my home."
Minato stumbled in surprise. "Your home? Why are we going to your home?". This was so not going anything like he expected it would.
She looked at him over her shoulder. she seemed to be measuring him for some reason. Minato stood a little straighter reflexively. This caused her to smile slightly.
They continued on their way until they came to a large mansion. The girl opened the iron gate and held it open for him. Minato stepped in and watched as she closed the gate and began to head towards the house. Minato whistled. "Wow this is your house?"
She shook her head. "This is my brother's house. I just live here".
"So is your family wealthy? If there are poor people in soul society, there must also be wealthy people as well?" Minato asked curiously.
The girl opened the large wooden doors and they both entered. As Minato looked around the entrance hall, she answered. "In Soul Society, The wealthy are those who have reached the highest ranks in the 13 Court Guard Squads. My brother is a captain - the highest rank among Soul Reapers - Therefore he and his kin live a more privileged existence than others."
Minato seemed to think about this for a moment. "So your brother is one of the 13 leaders of soul society?"
"Fourteen."
"What?" Minato questioned
The girl gestured for him to follow her up the marble staircase into the upper floors of the mansion. "There are 13 Captains, one for each squad, and one Head Captain, who oversees the other Captains. They are the leaders of the Soul Reapers. It is the Central 46 who govern most of Soul Society"
Minato was beginning to realize that there was much he had to learn about this place. It seemed like every time he got an answer, a hundred new questions arose. "Isn't there some kind of initiation or class for new souls to learn all this?" he asked with exasperation.
The girl stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway and turned to him. She smirked. "Well, Yes. However, your case is very complicated. To my knowledge, there is no protocol set for what we do with a mortal who has summoned a Soul Reaper and offered their soul to them. There very well could be dire punishment for such an act." She paused. "It is possible I will be punished for assisting you."
Minato winced at the jab. "So what happens now?"
"I am going to seek out my Captain for advice in this matter." the girl opened the door and gestured for him to enter. "You will wait in my room while I sort this situation out."
Minato entered the room and looked around. It was a normal looking bedroom, the walls were pink and decorated with sleek furnishings. It was clear that this was the girls bedroom, but somehow the girly almost child-like touches completely contradicted the girl's personality she had shown so far.
He turned to the girl when he heard the door shut, and she was right in his face. He hadn't even heard he approach him. "Now you listen, Do not leave this room until I get back. Do you understand? I have no idea what is going to happen to you, but it is in your best interest not to do anything that could possibly get you into more trouble than you may already be in." she paused for a moment. "I don't know how long I will be." from her pocket, she pulled the orb that was the Yin Chakra of the Kyuubi. "Taking care of this may delay me some. So be patient." She turned and slid open the door.
"Wait!" Minato said. He didn't really know what he should say, this had all happened pretty fast. He looked around the girls room and then sighed. "Listen, Uh- I feel kind of awkward, staying in your room alone.. I mean, I don't even know your name."
The girl smirked at the nervous boy in her room. "My name is Rukia" she answered before sliding the door closed.
Minato sat nervously at the edge of Rukia's bed and looked around. So much had happened. He felt emotionally exhausted, but his body didn't feel any of the fatigure of his mind. He thought of his son, and wondered if he would be alright. Then he gasped as he remembered something. 'Kushina!'
Was she here in soul society? Was she wandering somewhere alone outside the walls of Seireitei? In the confusion of being brought here he had completely forgotten about her!
Minato quickly tried to calm himself. There was nothing he could do right now, when Rukia returned he would ask her about what happened to Kushina. There was more pressing things to worry about right now. He was likely going to be sentenced to some sort of punishment for his actions, and he needed to focus on one problem at a time.
Deciding that sitting around worrying would not help him right now, he put his fears in the back of his mind and examined the room around him.
'So this is a shinigami's room', Minato thought with a smirk. 'I can't believe how...human they are. I thought for sure I would be eaten by a skeletal god or something.'
Noticing a closet, Minato rose and made to open it. 'I wonder what kind of stuff a shinigami has'. He realized that Rukia had called herself a Soul Reaper, he nodded to himself. He looked in the closet and saw it was pretty normal. Hanging in the closet where several copies of what he assumed was her uniform and a few kimonos. Looking down he saw a couple of boxes and an iron locked chest. Deciding it would be rude to start going through her personal things, he slid the door closed and looked over and saw a desk and dresser along the other wall. Minato sat at the desk and admired the obvious quality of the craftsmanship. He opened a drawer revealing tidy stacks of paperwork that to his surprise looked like mission reports. He wanted to take a closer look, but decided it was best not to disturb anything. So he closed the drawer and made his way over to the dresser. Starting from the bottom, he opened each one only finding clothes and some rather ordinary looking possessions.
'I guess the afterlife isn't much different from our lives.' Minato thought with some relief as he opened the top drawer. He gasped in shock and snapped the drawer shut quickly.
His face burning red with embarrassment he walked back to the bed and sat stiffly. 'Okay. Calm down. You didn't touch any of them, Rukia will never know you saw them. Clean thoughts Minato, you're not like Jiraiya.'
Minato was looking around the room, trying to find something that might distract him from what he had just seen. On a the bedside table he saw a thick book. Taking a deep calming breath he walked over and picked it up. The title read: Gotei 13 Handbook.
'This may answer some questions' Minato thought.
Now thoroughly distracted, Minato began to learn what he could about the 13 Court Guard Squads and the Soul Reapers.