Bleach Fanfiction: Yoruichi's Hollow Heart
By Sgt-Sparki

Originally written for a special interests group that enjoys stories around hearts.

Note: Ryushin Kaizen is an Original Character of "Windwolf"

Please note that the author (me) knows only little about Bleach.

Warnings: Minor blood and violence.

"Well?", Ichigo arrogantly asked.
Ten long seconds of silence swept by as Yoruichi hesitated to answer his question. Ichigo and the others stared upon her, wondering why the beautiful woman with dark complexion petrified. The question about the unknown shinigami standing amidst the rows of many others arose soon made clear that there were distant memories about him.

The man possessed long silver unkempt hair, circular glasses and was of a muscular stature. Orihime and other females gazed upon him with big eyes. Like many throughout the rows of rather dishonorable soldiers, he was battered with decades-long injuries. At least he served for the good.

The attractive man however was not part of the honorable shinigami; instead, he was part of an outcast group that somewhat served as a mercenary team that dwelled the hell that existed between the Human World and the heavenly Soul Society; this hell was known as Hueco Mundo… the Hollow World. Unlike weaker Pluses and souls that would be turned into Hollows, these mercenaries acted as agents of the Soul Society. While not entirely trustworthy, they were the only ones who could solely survive and even retrieve souls that had not fully become Hollows. Nevertheless, these outcasts are greatly feared, for many of their groups may succumb to the Hollow World's corruption and ultimately deceive units of the shinigami into fatal ambushes. They were both welcomed and feared in this war against the Hollows.

"Hey, wake up, Yoruichi! Hello?! Man, what's wrong with you, black cat?!", Ichigo nudged her side, "Yo , Yoruichi. Soul Society to Yoruichi!"
"Ssshhh!", Orihime whispered, as she knocked Ichigo's forehead, "You'll embarrass us if you keep it up with the noise!"
"Pffff", he scoffed, "Hmpf, at least these merc guys saw some action over all this time. I'm getting sick and tired of training."

Yoruichi's hand quietly rubbed a specific spot just on left side of her breast bone. Her fingers gently ran the surfaces of an irregular scar that vertically ran just besides her left breast. Gazing upon his sword, she noticed it still had not 'regenerated' its missing tip. Within these seconds of silence, her mind was captured by emerging memories of a young man she once knew…

Ryushin…

A long time ago…

It had been long and strenuous battle between Captain Yoruichi Shihoin and the rare bestial Hollow Gillias. The so-called Hollows were corrupted spirits with supernatural powers whose only intentions were to devour the souls of both living and deceased humans; likewise spreading mayhem and despair throughout secluded areas of the Soul Society. Although such mindless and lesser spirits were also called Menos, there was a specific genre that was somewhat unique than the common behemoth spirits… The Gillians.

Among these was a very special one… One that had claimed the creative name Gillias was much smaller than the ordinary Gillian; surprisingly only a mere three heads taller than an ordinary human. Despite its smaller size, its hideous appearance and intellect was nevertheless stunning for any being.

Even though she had performed all powers and spells of her devastating Zanpakutou, the resilient Gillias survived even the greatest of her attacks whereas a lesser, common Gillian would had been destroyed. One of the greatest and frightening abilities this particular Gillias was its capability of sapping its prey of its powers and soul. For a powerful shinigami like Captain Yoruichi, this rare ability was considered the greatest danger, as it invisibly robs the endurance of any - regardless of how powerful the shinigami was.
Yoruichi was battered and in dire shape. Bruises were written all over her body. Her breath wheezed with great gasps. It was clear to her now that she had seriously underestimated this cunning foe… but not all hopes were futile, for she was not battling this creature alone.

Although Yoruichi was unable to alarm the Soul Society due to the creature's suppressive fields, she was supported by a young lieutenant who was nothing more than an initiate. This initiate was Kaizen Ryushin. This young blood, a foolishly inexperienced shinigami, was the only person in the entire area who could support her against this monster. Being an inexperienced initiate, his Zanpakutou was nothing more than a dual-grip, long-bladed Katana. Unable to unleash its powers due to the lack of training and experience, this sword was merely useless and ineffective against the Gillias.

Regardless, the demising status of his Captain forced him to act, deliberately and zealously. He knew that he would not stand the chance of outrunning the suppressive field of the Gillias - even if he were to spread the word somehow, the fate of the Captain was at stake. Ryushin had deliberately ignored the direct order of retreat from Yoruichi. The stubborn initiate simply could not leave her behind for she was a Captain - and his greatest demand to her was to flee for he was… expendable. But Yoruichi simply could not flee and leave him behind, not for his stubborn will of sacrificing himself to this vicious monster. The damn initiate had always been a thorn in her eyes, but she could not let him die like this… She needed to act and help him!

Ryushin agressed the Gillias with utmost rage and force. Surprisingly, Ryushin revealed no sign of growing afflictions. Yoruichi figured that the efficiency of this weakening stress was highly dependent on the prey's strength. The stronger the shinigami, the faster and intensively it would be felt. As for this initiate, he was not infusing any powers other than movement enhancements to engage and elude the foe. To a point, it appeared the Gillias was enjoying this. While it hardly took any damage from his strikes, it surprisingly had more difficulties hitting Ryushin than the even-swifter Captain who was almost incapacitated. But as this battle took place, the Gillias slowly suffered more and more blows that actually causing damage over time.

While all of these attacks surely could not defeat the Gillias, the fact of it receiving more and more blows raised the illusion of it losing the upper hand against this weaker opponent. Again and again, slashes kept coming through. Ryushin unleashed battle cries with each swipe and strike… losing his senses the more he dodged and retaliated. Even more, the Gillias was staggering backwards as it kept receiving hits.

But it was then, when an unforeseeable event occurred. It was something that nobody could predict. When the Gillias engaged a defensive barrier formed by all spiritual powers it had devoured, Ryushin's large katana suddenly unleashed the powers of the Zanpakuto at the peak of his rage. At first, the blade forcefully clashed against the barrier, stopping its advancement right before the chest of the Gillias. Ryushin's arms trembled in pain as the barrier transmitted agonizing corruptions through the blade… but this enraged him even more. It was then when his Zanpakuto blade suddenly dispersed a field of energy, comprising of two elements; wind and fire. The flames engulfed his arms and whipped as the gusts of wind twisted around his body.

His clothes and skin remained unscathed but for this split second, his chain of fate entered a short phase of encroachment. His body witnessed the faint excruciating moment of Hollowfication - which instinctively forced him to engage a violent thrust forward. Both fire and wind united with his body, ultimately fusing his rage. Although he resisted the unexpected Hollowfication that nearly corrupted him instantly, Ryushin blindly drove his blade forward. During his raging struggle forward, the blade not only extended to an unbelievable length, it also dispersed the protective feature of the Hollow's barrier; impaling the chest of the Gillias.
The drive was so powerful that it pierced right through the Gillias, petrifying it as both smashed into a wall behind it. Apparently, the Gillias' specialty as a lesser spirit was the fact that it could defeat powerful shinigamis, but it could not withstand the unpredictable youth of an inexperienced initiate. Ryushin slowly began to come back to senses.

It was over.

The monster calmed and gazed upon him with its singular eye. Fabrics of the Gillias began to rise and vanish. It was disintegrating. Ryushin was still full of anger. All he wanted to do was spin the blade so this violent creature could express true agony before vanishing into the great void. As Ryushin held his blade, he felt single trembles - barely sensible pushes. He tightened his grip.
A thought entered his mind as he stared into the eye of the Gillias; a single thought that was barely comprehensible.
The taste of victory… corrupts…

The last bits of the thought ended with what one could assume to be a chuckle. When the thought left his mind, the Gillias began to crumble to dust. As this occurred, Ryushin felt something running down his hand. It was a fluid… warm… and thick. Gazing upon it, he discovered it was blood! When the Gillias eternally vanished, Ryushin then heard a soft moan from ahead. Following the trail of blood dripping from his blade, the young initiate suddenly petrified.

His frightened eyes stared upon his Captain, Yoruichi, who stood with her back against a dense wall. The wall itself revealed cracks and a barely visible crater behind her that somewhat irregularly formed her silhouette. But nothing was more shocking to him than the revelation of the shaft that stuck right into her chest. Blood slowly oozed from spot it penetrated. Yoruichi did not say a word but her voice quietly trembled… barely at the verge of crying. A single tear ran down the side of her cheek.
The trembles went through his hands… weak beats. Ryushin released the grip of the sword. Yoruichi did not move but remained at her spot. He gazed upon his bloody hands, "No… no… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Ryushin awoke from what he now named a silent daymare yet again. Sweat ran down his entire face. He looked around and was disorientated at first. When he came to his senses, he figured he was at a secluded area of the medical wing… He was in safety. It had been over 19 hours since Yoruichi's critical heart surgery… and another three hours ever since it had ended. It was as if the night of terror had not ended. He did not even witness the sun's warmth upon his back. Nothing but the cold solitude of night enveloped him.
There was no mentioning of her current status ever since he found himself here. The young man found himself in a dark room, sitting upon a chair with his Zanpakuto blade wrapped by blanket. He could hear activity beyond the door but other than that, he was alone. Ryushin's hand grasped his face. Nausea troubled him along with fatigue and depressions.
Suddenly, the door went open, throwing a calm beam of light into the room. His eyes were stung by it but he knew he was not in danger. It was a man, a doctor of the Soul Society.

"Kaizen Ryushin. I am sorry I interrupted your sleep."
"I am- It's all right, doctor. I was not sleeping."
"I see", the doctor said and shortly raised his hand to turn on the switch.

"D-Doctor. If you please, I would kindly like the lights to remain off. It helps."
Luckily, his hand stopped just before flipping it.
"I understand", the man took a deep breath before continuing, "Lieutenant, I wish to explain the situation. First, and most importantly, I would like to inform you that Captain Yoruichi Shihoin survived the trauma and the resulting surgery. I was summoned to the medical wing to perform the surgery. It took us almost twenty hours to stabilize her. The patient's heart was severely punctured and the heart itself even expressed dropouts. I must say that if it were not for my colleagues, I'd be sharing a more tragic message to you, Lieutenant."

"J-Just call me Ryushin. I fear I no longer deserve the title of a shinigami, doctor."
"You saved her life. That is what counts."
"Th-That is not true, doctor. I am the one who drove that sword into her chest. I should have pulled it out and -"
"Good gracious, no", the man suddenly noted with utter seriousness, "If you had pulled that sword out of her chest, her heart would have pressed all the blood out of her body until it would have been too late for anything, young man! - eh…", he calmed his voice, "I apologize for my, my harsh reply. We all suffered great stress today. The Gillias wrecked havoc throughout the Soul Society… There were many casualties - but also successes, including the Captain's survival. You know, young man, even I did mistakes. We lost at least five patients due to my tenacity. I was too enthusiastic… Listen, let me explain something. It was more than crucial that you neither twisted nor removed the blade from Captain Shihoin's chest."

Due to the darkness, the doctor could not see Ryushin's suddenly shocked face as he recalled his thought of twisting the blade to ensure the Gillias would sense true agony. The urge was so powerful and he nearly did it if it were not for the discovery of blood running down his hands.

"… You must understand that although her heart was punctured by your blade, it did not stop. You see, this trauma expressed what the humans down on the human world would call a blessing in disguise. A fortune in misfortune."

Ryushin did not know what to say but just sit in darkness.

"I see my words are confusing. Listen. Whenever somebody is hit - regardless if it went into the heart or any other organ - If it was a blade that was not removed, the blade itself acts as a blood-stopper… somewhat. A clean stab of course ruptures the blood vessels and anything like that must be treated at once - but as long as the blade is there, the injured being still has… time. My medical staff found itself not only in one but two critical stages when the Captain finally was brought in. First of all, we needed to remove the blade. Luckily, the Zanpakuto energies dissipated and the katana returned to its previous state. Although I was exhausted and already beyond a day of sleep like you, I came up with an unconventional way of removing the blade - without removing the blade from the heart."
"…"

"Don't worry. Since that sword is a Zanpakutou, it will regenerate. Anyways, the Captain lost a lot of blood and her heart still was severely damaged. I don't know, Lieutenant, but your unforeseeable strike impaled her heart perfectly. It was a clean stab that actually ruptured her right ventricle chamber, but mostly the tissue between the two ventricles. Another fact we discovered was something that we all would call a beginner's luck - ironically, you missed…"
"Missed… what? I struck her right into -"
"Let me finish, if you may. You missed the sinoatrial node, the electrical conductor of her heart. It is what gives electrical signal to rest of the heart to beat. You missed it just a millimeter - I dare to say even less. If you had punctured it, the heart would have seized at once. The blood flow would have stopped just in that instance! And here is where another blessing occurred. Although you missed, your blade somehow struck the parasympathetic nervous system's receptor. Somehow, the strike caused it to agitate and dispatch signals to the heart."

Ryushin whipped some sweat of his forehead, "Parasymposium- what?"
"Heh, everybody has problems pronouncing medical terms. The heart comprises not only of tissue but also depends on a sophisticated biological nervous system. This nerve specific gives the heart the signal to slow down. For instance, if the Captain were to stop running from something, this specific nervous system would cause it to slow down. It would be devastating for any being if the heart would never slow down - but I am missing the point here. Look, what happened here was the heart received the signal to slow down."
Again, Ryushin lowered his head as the headache disturbed him.
"You know, Lieutenant. Her heart must have been racing regarding the situation you both were in. The Gillias was reported as a serious foe and both of your lives were at stake. She is a young and strong woman, above 200 years old - but even with her capabilities, she met her match. We discovered that she had far too much adrenaline flowing through her body. Our bodies are not perfect as you know. The Gillias was so frightening that her body was merely flooded with it. If the Gillias had not been killed, and if the fight had gone on, she would have suffered a heart attack. I am not joking. Her heart muscle was strained by severe stress. And one more thing… Your blade was the cause to forcefully slow it down! It not slowed it down, it also dropped the blood pressure to such a low level that the blood did not simply shoot out like a leaky steam pipe… giving all of us time to save her life. It was tight, but we succeeded. She may be a shinigami, but even they are somewhere human…"

His head fell back. He was not certain if he should feel relieved.

"Lieutenant… Ryushin. I would like you to come with me. I am actually here to fulfill the Captain's wish."
A seriously cold drop of sweat went down his spine.

"I-I suppose the repercussion of what I had done will occur even before I can see the sun of the next day. Doctor, I even broke several laws… from attacking the captain unknowingly - regardless if it was unintentionally - a-and I even ignored her direct order. The Spirit King… The Judiciary… even the public will know of this very soon - and I am sure the military already does. I am not even sure if I should stand as a man... or run. They will outcast me - and then through me into the spirit-sealing pit or even slash me with the Soukyoku… No doubt it. This will be my end."

"I am aware of your misery, Ryushin. Have hope, young man - You may be in trouble, I cannot doubt that unfortunately, but you will find a chance to live. I am somewhat certain about it. But, listen, you may be surprised to hear that the Captain wants to see you because she is worried about you. In fact, she is recovering just fine. It is safe to visit her. She has sent me to summon you and I think we should not let her wait so long. In her doctor's interest, happiness is the best way to recovery, so I am giving you to order to come with me. I will carry your Zanpakuto - Don't worry, it won't harm me."

Not much later, the doctor guided Ryushin through the corridors of the medical wing. The halls were somewhat calm. Apparently, the terrors of incoming causalities were over… for now. He then soon found himself standing in front of the dreaded room of his Captain. He stood in front of the closed door for a very long time. The doctor had left him and his Zanpakuto blade, knowing that they both should be alone.

"C-Come in… Please", a soft but muffled voice said behind the door.
Apparently, Captain Yoruichi sensed his cowardice. She could feel that he felt his presence was like a stench in the air. He greatly underestimated the Captain. Being over 200 years old must have granted her telepathy, heightened senses and -
"Lieutenant, I can see the shadow of your feet on the floor."

Oh. Damn…

"Nobody would be standing out there that long unless it was Ichigo, but he is still in training elsewhere. Now - come on in. That's a please, not an order… At least don't deny this one… please?"
The door opened and he finally entered. After closing the door, he still kept his back to the Captain, not willing to turn around.

"Are you kidding me, Ryushin. Turn around."
Ryushin spotted the woman lying on a medical bed. Her torso was angled upwards in a comfortable pose. Aside to the white blankets he expected, the young man however blushed as he saw that her chest was almost completely exposed. A great portion of her bust was revealed, but luckily, the nipples were hidden beneath the open white shirt for patients. He approached her with a single step , further gazing upon her chest. Single patches were connected to cables leading to a digital aperture that revealed bouncing lines. Unlike natural pulses, the lines revealed irregular phases - the tones were likewise irregular. Furthermore, there was a very small flat unit right upon the injury leading to another device that revealed a pulsing image, somewhat quivering synchronically to the bouncing lines. All scratches and bruises upon her chocolate skin were treated, too, and her free dark purple hair went to the shoulders.

"Enjoying the sight, aren't we?"
He looked away.
"Ryushin, could you please close the window. The air is getting a bit too cool for me. And sit down upon the chair right here."

Doing as she wished, he closed the window and the curtains and lastly sat down. He just sat there, listening to the sounds of the machine.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

"Well, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY, LIEUTENANT, THEN GO!", she suddenly barked at him.

Her suddenly harsh demand was like lightning that surprised him. Ryushin was so surprised that he almost fell from his chair. Instantly shooting upwards, the shocked man clumsily kicked it to the side as he blindly walked backwards.

"W-Wait! Good gracious… wait!", her voice suddenly changed into an utmost cheerful and sweet chuckle, "I dearly - You , haha , you should see the look of your face! Look - hahaha - look, I can't believe I scared you! It was just a joke - ha-hahahaha-haaaahaha…"

Ryushin truly was more than shocked. He was even expecting the worse! But just as she shortly engaged laughter, she suddenly coughed, gasped several times and clutched her chest. Ryushin instinctively rushed to her but did not know what to do. When he spotted a red button, he assumed it was the emergency call signal. Just before he was about to press it with his thumb, Yoruichi's hand met his.

"S-Stop, wait. I am… okay. I am - fine! Don't call them, please. I don't want to run through any more tests! Okay, you got me, Ryushin - Put the red button down slowly", she sounded happy but it was clear that she was hiding her inner pains, "Damn you, heart! You always break when I need you", she jokingly said to her chest.

The tones beeped irregularly but soon calmed to the previously unpredictable pace along with the imagery. Reaching over, Yoruichi barely managed to drag the chair closer to her bad. After doing so, she offered her hand to him, inviting him to sit down.

"L-Listen, I'm sorry, kid. People always say my humor can get over-the-top", she calmly continued, "No more jokes, okay?"
Kid… She had not called me that in ages.

The exhausted and confused man approached her, and although he was hesitant, he finally sat down.

"I guess I will be on sick leave for quite a while. Listen, kid. Let us just forget about what happened between us and the Gillias. Let us just talk about here and now. Before I do that, let me turn down the volume of this ECG-thing. I wish I could stop the beeping entirely, but I don't want to die twice."
Ryushin pushed his glasses upwards as the volume of the peeping was lowered..

"You know, Kid… Ryushin… Ryushin… I think I should stop calling you kid… It looks like many of us underestimated you as it seems you prematurely activated your Zanpakutou, even for a single moment. It was so surprisingly, it went right through my heart!"

He just sat there. He looked around as he heard another sound. It was muffled thumping.
"That's my heart, too. Not only was it surgically repaired, the heartbeats are somewhat louder for some reason. Don't even ask why - Ugh. Did you know that I was forced to remain conscious during the first eight hours of the surgery? It was interesting… and weird - but I guess that's normal for a girl like me, huh? You know, it's not every day where you see your breastbone removed like by pieces and seeing your heart pulse with this long katana blade through it. It wobbled with every beat. It was creepy - and amazing… heh-heh. The doctor came up with an unusual idea since they just could not pull it out. Would have been a mess - like that one up there on the ceiling."

The young shinigami looked upwards and froze as he spotted a blood stain on the ceiling.
"Uhh - that mess up there was my bad!", Yoruichi cheerfully explained - although slightly embarrassed, "When they removed the sword's body, my heart made a powerful contraction and squirted some blood up to the ceiling. The medical guys went nuts as they figured it was time to get to true surgery and heal the inner wounds I sustained - and, well, yeah, I was put to sleep by a spell. They were very effective by the way. They said that a big scar would remain, but I guess that finally gives me true evidence of for a tale of battle, eh?"
"Y-Yeah… I suppose so."

"Oh, so you can speak? You still think it is your fault… I can understand that… But I feel inside, that I must do something. Ryushin, please lift your blade. Take a good look at it."

Nervously pulling out the wrapped Zanpakuto, he silently examined it after revealing it. His eyes focused on the handle and grip protector. Nothing special here… His eyes followed the shaft to the base of the katana's blade. Yet another cold shiver ran down his spine as he recalled the event against the Gillias. Dried blood was still upon it.

"We went through a lot, Ryushin… A lot that has brought me closer to an initiate than normal."

Ryushin's eyes widened when he found the spot. Right at the end of it, he noticed that a small but noticeable chunk was missing.
"Yes, you found it. The doctor found no choice but to use spells to break the decisive piece off before it was too late. There was simply no way to sustain my heart without further damaging it by the katana's removal. The medics managed to break it off, leaving the piece as it was. Using specific methods, they managed to render it dull enough so it would not cut further through. After surgery, my heart was sealed."

Quietly grabbing his hand, she led it to her chest and placed it right above the scar after removing the device that revealed inner imagery. Ryushin could feel the slow bulging as Yoruichi's heart slowly beat. Although the breastbone was reassembled, her heartbeat was more visibly than before. Strangely, there was an unusual source of magic tickling the center of palm.

"The piece will eternally remain in it, forever… Ryushin. In here… In me. It will remain a part of me until I die. Don't worry about your sword. Zanpakuto weapons regenerate with the soul. The tip will grow back. While an arm for a human would never grow back, it would for a Zanpakutou weapon. The doctor was very sorry to break it but I told it was not that bad as it sounds. And one more thing. Stand up and come to me."

He did not think twice but stood up, while placing the sword to the side. Yoruichi raised both of her hands, wanting to embrace him. When he hesitantly leaned over, she pulled him downwards, causing him to lose balance and gently land upon her body. She then gently forced his head to turn and placed his right ear against her chest. Ryushin was deeply embarrassed as well as petrified as part of his face was squashing one of her soft breasts; not to mention his nose merely poking the other one down. But his inner shock vanished the moment his senses returned to what he was hearing from his right ear. Ryushin hushed.

Within, he could hear Yoruichi's heart beating. It was far from normal. Unlike the bo-lok - or the popular lub-dub - he heard the muscle's irregular contractions like a wet foaming sponge. The actual audible thumps emitted from what could only be the rubs of damaged valves. There was another sound, too; it was the click of a hard object somewhat clogging the unsealed valve closed… then opening when it relaxed. It could be no other than the tip of his blade that was now serving as a valve, too. Not only did it move back and forth between the chambers it had once ruptured, it was all part of her heart. The sound was soothing… and beautiful - but also frightening. The heart rate rose slightly as she moaned lightly. His weight of his head was applying pressure to the surgical wounds of the heart, causing pain and further irregularities. He wanted to lift his head, but she forced it to stay where it was. She wanted him to just stay on her and with her.

The clicks and heartbeat was nothing like he ever had heard before. The galloping of clicks almost made him believe there were more than four chambers. Using another switch she grabbed, the upper part of the bed slowly leveled to its horizontal plane with the rest. She was now lying upon the bed with him resting above his. Just when she was about to say something, she then heard snoring.

"W-What…!"

Another snore… She appeared to be mad at first; for she could not believe the first man ever to come THIS close to her and her heart actually fallen asleep right upon her. Her lips formed a faint smile and she used the switch to dim the lights to the lowest level. The young warrior who actually saved her life must had not slept for an eternity…

"Don't worry… I won't let them banish you… Ryushin… I promise. I will protect you. With all that my heart has to offer."

[i]Her hands stopped rubbing the deep scar. Her heart skipped a beat… For she failed to fulfill the promise… After his banishment and disappearance, he was considered forsaken… but he was now here, standing amidst the rows of the feared mercenaries…[/i]

Her face remained firm, truly hiding her deepest emotions as she was a mature woman. Responding to Ichigo's question about this knowing this man in the rows of many, she answered, "N-No. I don't know him…"

THE END