Limits of the Soul

Woot. First bleach fic. Enjoy, I hope.

Pairings- none at the minute.

Timeline- After Aizen's escape to the Menos.

Main character- Nemu Kurotsuchi

Italics = Thoughts

SQUAD 12 BARRACKS

In the senior officer's section of the squad 12 barracks, there were several bedrooms reserved for the third seat, the lieutenant and the Captain.

In the lieutenant's room there was darkness, with only a faint glimmer of moonlight illuminating the room with a pale blue glow. The room was sparsely furnished. Although it was a large room it was filled only by a single bed, a simple cabinet and a desk with a swivel chair.

Outside the window there were some willow trees, illuminated in the ghostly moonlight. Upon closer inspection one would see that the window had a cage over it- not to keep people out, but to keep someone in.

The silence in the room was broken by a sudden gasp- a painful and sudden intake of air, coming from somewhere along the back wall, beneath the window. There was another wretched gasp, and Nemu Kurotsuchi, the lieutenant of Squad 12, awoke with a jolt.

The first thing that crossed her mind was the pain. Sitting against the wall, Nemu put her hand over her stomach, feeling a slick substance ooze from her body. She held her hand up slowly to the moonlight, revealing the substance to be blood. She studied it, and then placed her hand back down as her ragged breathing made her pant for air. Thoughts ran through her mind at lightning speed.

This is my room, but... Why am I here? I was helping the Cap...

Her thoughts stopped as she remembered. Remembered her Captain's pale face close to hers. Remembered the glint of his zanpakuto. Remember the pain as he slashed her midriff, from her stomach up to her shoulder.

"Master Mayuri...I'm sorry..." Nemu whispered to herself. She deserved this. She had angered her captain with her flaws. She didn't deserve his mercy.

She tried to stand up but was rewarded by a sudden pain spike that caused her to fall to one knee. She considered it lucky that Mayuri had been merciful and did not release his sword, otherwise she wouldn't be able to move. The lieutenant crawled on all fours over to her desk, and slide open one of the drawers. Her enhanced vision made it easy to find what she was looking for even in the myopic lighting. Her hand clutched a small blue bottle containing several white pills. She swallowed one and put the bottle back, and then slumped against the desk. After a few seconds, the painkillers enabled her to shakily stand up. She walked to the door, only to find it locked, so instead she sat down on the bed and took off her shoes. Looking at the clock she noticed it was just after midnight.

The girl sat quietly for a few minutes. She needed much less sleep than regular shinigami, due to Mayuri's modifications. Still, Nemu liked sleeping, for a reason she couldn't understand. She got up and went into her bathroom, flicking on the light.

In the mirror she was greeted by a beaten girl with a diagonal slash across her body- a crimson smear leaking into her clothes. She didn't flinch- she'd had worst in the past. She changed into her sleepwear and then made her way back to her bed.

Nemu lay on top of the covers, thinking hard. Why did her master continue to show mercy, even when she constantly ruined his plans?

'You don't constantly ruin his plans. In fact you've never ruined anything he's done.' Nemu groaned internally. A second voice chimed in.

'Face it, one of the days the clown is going to kill you, whether he means to or not? What did you do this time? Inform him that the formula he made would be dangerous for you?' It said. Nemu ignored it.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you two. And you're not supposed to talk to me," she in monotone. The voices continued.

'Pointing out that something was dangerous shouldn't have got you cut up. You may not have noticed but your lip is bleeding and there's a bruise on your cheek in addition to that laceration,' the first voice said, drawing no response from Nemu, who had fixed her green eyes on the ceiling.

'Nemu, we've told you time and time again. We're part of you. We feel your pain. Literally,' it stated quietly.

"I was rude to my master. My body could've handled the drug, provided medical aid was around. I shouldn't have said anything, but I was being selfish," Nemu found herself replying. There was silence for a moment, before the voices continued.

'Do you ever listen to yourself?' voice two asked. Nemu paid it no heed.

'Come on, we may as well talk to the walls. Goodnight Nemu, and remember, there's a lieutenants meetingtomorrow at 10 amsharp,' voice one said, knowing full well that Nemu was never late. And with that, the duo of voices left her.

A male and a female voice, the pair of voices that Nemu heard often. They had bothered her for as long she could remember, saying the same things every time. It was too bad for them that they were sealed away, but they pestered Nemu even through blast proof walls. She made a mental note to ask Master Mayuri to move them to another part of the research facility.

She was still bleeding, but she paid the crimson smear no attention. Her body could survive much worse than a mere slash from an unreleased zanpakuto.

She gazed at the ceiling and eventually closed her eyes. She wanted to get to sleep before the painkillers wore off. She relaxed with a deep breath, and began to drift off to a dreamless sleep.

NEXT MORNING, LIEUTENANT'S MEETING ROOM

It was a few minutes before the meeting was to begin. The various lieutenants stood around their table, chatting to each other about work and daily life. As per usual Nemu stood alone. At Akon's insistence she had bandaged herself before heading to the meeting, but the bruise on her cheek was drawing attention. Nemu's augmented hearing picked up on some of the individual speakers.

"He must have hit her again," a voice that sounded like Kira's murmured, drawing a response from Momo.

"That bastard. I bet Tobiume wants a word with him."

"You wouldn't stand a chance. You ever see that sword of his? One hit and you're out," Renjii replied. Before Kira or Momo could respond, Sasakibe came in.

"Alright everyone, take your seats. I here-by call this meeting to order," the Squad One lieutenant said, and the other shinigami took their seats. Sasakibe looked around the table.

"Where is lieutenant Omaeda?" He asked, drawing a shrug from Rangiku.

"Nobody knows where he is?" Sasakibe inquired. Before any more could be said, there was a chuckle.

"Oh, don't worry. Fatso will be fine!" Yachiru giggled, and the rest of the officers felt pity for the squad two second-in-command.

"We'll just start without him, but I'm telling the Squad Two captain about this," Sasakibe said, reading over the papers in front of him. The other officers listened diligently as the meeting began.

"First order of business. Lieutenant Kusajishi, do you have a report on the hollows your squad defeated last night in North Rukon District area 53?" the old lieutenant asked. Yachiru nodded, her head a blur.

"You bet! There were 3 hollows running around, big and scary! But they were no match for Baldy and Yun-Yun!" the girl bubbled happily, causing Sasakibe to mentally kick himself. He would get better information out of a brick wall.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Kusajishi," he sighed. Before he could move on, the door to the meeting room was kicked in, revealing Omaeda wearing a pink kimono. The large man was panting and weasing.

"Sorry I'm late Lieutenant Sasakibe, but Yachiru dyed my clothes pink! And then I looked and looked for a new one everywhere!" he wheezed, causing the other officers, with the exception of Nemu, to break out laughing.

Once everything had quieted down, Sasakibe continued with the meeting, repeating the same things he said every time. Nemu didn't really pay attention and the rest of the meeting was a blur. When the meeting was over she got up and went back to the barracks, although she was thinking.

Every time Master punishes me, I hear the others talk about it. They're concerned for me, but why? Maybe they don't understand that since Master-Mayuri created me, he was the right to use me however he wants? It's just misguided pity. And why do Akon and the other staff always make me rest and bandage myself? I can take the damage.

Nemu shrugged off the thoughts as she made her way to her desk in her room and began to write a to the Captain on the research she was doing, on a device that could keep a hollow alive even after sustaining fatal wounds, that could also be used to keep the bodies of the creatures from dissolving, meaning that they could easily be studied. Since Aizen was working with the hollows, research needed to be done on how to stop the creatures, specifically anything the Hogyoku could create. The prototype was ready for use but the only hollows in the Soul Society recently had been small-fry. Internally she felt pride. Her master was trusting her to create this device, and she felt glad that he had faith in her to produce the tool.

Before she could continue her report, Captain Kurotsuchi flung her door open and barged in with Akon.

"Nemu! Get up, quickly! There's a Gillian in East Rukon district area 80, but it's a unique Gillian, not one of those boring drones. Squad 13 are going to defeat it and I need you to go and place that device of yours on the creature and bring it back here. It's not often we get a hollow like this," Mayuri shouted frantically, and Nemu nodded as she ran out of the barracks, grabbed her device from the lab and began to flash step towards the furthest reaches of the Rukon district.

I won't let you down Captain.

RUKON DISTRICT AREA 80, SABITSURA

Nemu hurtled towards the forest around Sabitsura. She leapt over the run-down houses, ignoring the homeless and beggars below her. She clutched her device close to her chest.

Master is counting on me. Nemu was happy, as it wasn't often that she had a chance to please her Captain. And what better way than to show her technological skills? She cleared the shanty-towns and flew into the Sabitsura woods. She skimmed the tree-tops with her impressive mastery of shunpo, as she soared higher, she spotted the towering forms of Gillians. She counted at least twenty of the mindless beasts roaming the forest, hurling cero blasts at the shinigami of the 13th squad below. She came into a clearing and landed softly. Nemu carefully checked that her prototype was okay, before spotting a man with white hair wearing a captain's haori.

"Captain Ukitake?" Nemu asked as she approached, but she stopped when the captain leapt into the air above her, towards one of the menos. The creature roared and blasted a crimson cero at him, but he absorbed the blast into one of his blades, before blasting it back at the mindless hollow. The blast tore through the Gillian's mask, leaving a bloody stump. The Gillian fell, crashing into the forest below, before disintegrating into the night air.

Nemu was in awe. Captain Ukitake had taken down a towering Gillian with no effort. Her combat abilities couldn't hold a candle to his. She didn't even have a zanpakuto, let alone two. Ukitake landed beside the dark-haired artificial shinigami.

"Hey there Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," he said with a smile, despite the battle raging on around him. Nemu simply nodded.

"Mayuri told me you were coming. Going to test a new tool?" he asked, watching several of his squad members swarm a Gillian, covering the beast with slashes before shattering its mask. Nemu nodded.

"Some of it is confidential, but essentially it's a device that prevents a hollow's reishi bonds breaking when they die, allowing the bodies to be kept. It can also be used to keep fatally wounded hollows alive," she told him, and he scratched his head as another menos fell in the distance.

"Sometimes you people at the SRDI are amazing," he said politely, although internally he wondered why one would need such a device. Nemu nodded.

"My objective is the unique Gillian leading this group of drones," she said, pointing to one particular menos in the distance, wearing a different mask to the others, as it blasted a cero into a group of shinigami in the woods. Its mask had two large teardrop shapes in place of the eyes, and lacked the pointed noise and mouth of a regular Gillian.

"Yes, I noticed that. That sort of Gillian is quite rare, and they commonly lead groups of the regular menos," Ukitake said, observing as a wounded Gillian staggered backwards. The leader took the opportunity to punish its weakness by biting down into its neck, causing the wounded hollow to roar before falling.

"What a good leader," Ukitake remarked, readying his dual zanpakuto. Nemu felt insignificant in his presence. Ukitake was strong and a good leader, everything she wasn't. She often felt like that around the other officers.

"Captain Ukitake, can you disable that leading Gillian for me to test my device?" Nemu asked. Ukitake nodded with a smile.

"That's not a problem. Anything as long as these creatures are gone from here. Stay close to me," he said, as he leapt towards the Gillian in the distance. Nemu stared at his fading form before leaping after him. The two hovered in the air.

"Captain, once the hollow is weakened, I will throw my device on it and it will latch on. You must then continue to hit it so it can't struggle while we're transporting it. The device will keep it alive," Nemu said as the two of them hung at face level with the Gillian, which took notice of them and began to charge a cero.

"I understand," Ukitake replied, preparing his kido.

"Hado number four, Byakurai!" he shouted, firing a brilliant white bolt of lightning from his fingertip. The bolt pierced the Gillian just below its jaw. The wound instantly cauterized so the usual torrent of blood was not present. It shrieked in pain, and the creature's cero faded.

Next, Ukitake raised his hand again.

"Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo number sixty-one, Rikujokoro!" he yelled, blasting six yellow wedges of spirit energy that slammed into the hollows midsection, holding it in place. It screeched in protest, but was unable to overcome the spell.

"Now's your chance, Lieutenant!" the Captain shouted, and Nemu flung armed the device and flung it as hard as she could. As it flew towards the hollow, it opened up and latched onto the creature, causing the hollow to glow red faintly.

"Now Captain, disable it!" Nemu shouted, causing Ukitake to move with blinding speed. All of his years of experience meant that he was well accustomed to the biology of a Gillian, and he knew exactly where to strike.

Within moments, his blades had severed the tendons controlling the hollow's arms and legs, the beast roaring in pain. Ukitake removed his Bakudo from the Gillian, causing it to collapse to the ground face first.

"Hado number thirty-one, Shakkaho!" the Captain yelled, firing a crimson blast into the hollow's back, covering it with a red explosion. When the smoke cleared, Ukitake examined his handiwork. The hollow had been completely blown open with it's back split along the impact point, but remarkably, the beast was still alive.

"Lieutenant, your device has worked! I was worried that I had killed the beast," the Captain said. Nemu nodded.

"The device works as intended. That is good. Captain, can your men bring this hollow back to the SRDI headquarters?" she asked, internally smiling. Her master would be pleased at her success. Ukitake nodded, noticing that his men had finished off the other menos.

"Sure, but we're going to need some kind of wagon and a crane," Ukitake said doubtfully, unsure as to why Mayuri's own men couldn't transport the hollow, but too polite to tell that to Nemu. The pale girl shook her head.

"That won't be necessary Captain. My master gave me this device to help you," she replied, taking a small tubular machine from her inside pocket. She pressed some buttons on a small keypad on the device, and then threw it onto the hollow.

"What was that?"

"This device was created specifically to help move large hollows. It lowers the weight of anything it is attached to. I set it to make the Gillian weigh only 200 kilograms, so a few of your men could pick it up," Nemu told him, proud of the device her master had created. Ukitake doubted it would be that simple. The Gillian was long and would be unwieldy to carry, especially in the narrow streets of the Sereitei. But, Ukitake was a gentleman, and again didn't say anything. He called his men together apprehensively.

"Here's the plan, men…"

SEVERAL HOURS LATER, IN FRONT OF THE SRDI HEADQUARTERS

It had taken time, and smashing the Gillian's head into several buildings, but Ukitake's soldiers had carried the beast back to the SRDI. It was night now, and the moon had risen, bathing the hollow in pale light. Ukitake's men went back to their barracks, while the Captain stayed with Nemu. The Lieutenant went and fetched Captain Kurotsuchi.

Ukitake stood outside the building, gazing at the grey moon. He was proud of his men today- they had defeated 15 Gillians, with the remainder slain by Ukitake himself, with one escaping through a garganta. The shinigami had taken no losses although a few were injured by indirect cero blast damage.

It was a quiet night, with only a faint breeze coming from the clear, starry skies. Ukitake took a deep breath, and then focused back on the hollow beside him, resembling a thick black wall. It occasionally grunt, but otherwise was quiet.

My kind of hollow. Well, ones that are still alive anyway. None of that damn screaming.

Before he could stare up at the moon again, he noticed Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemu make their way over to him.

"Ah, Mayuri," Ukitake said with a friendly smile, although internally he detested the man. Mayuri looked at him like he was some kind of insect.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the hospital or something?" the clown-like Captain snapped rudely. Ukitake raised an eyebrow.

"My health hasn't been so bad lately, thanks, and anyway I thought I should stay in case this hollow breaks free of your device," he replied politely, causing Mayuri's pale face to twitch.

"You don't think I, a Squad Captain, would be able to defeat a mere Gillian?" he asked, his voice beginning to raise ever so slightly. The SRDI chairman looked away from his counterpart for a minute to look at the hollow.

"And anyway, because of MY ingenuity, this Gillian is completely incapaca-," he was interrupted by the red glow around the hollow fading. The creature roared in pain, before disintegrating into the night air, leaving behind Nemu's device. Mayuri picked it up and examined it, before angrily smacking Nemu across the face with it, causing the girl to reel. Ukitake's eyes widened. He had heard the stories of Mayuri Kurotsuchi's abusive side, but this was the first time he had witnessed it first-hand.

Nemu managed to stand up straight, bleeding heavily from her lip. She said nothing, and looked at her feet. Mayuri gave a feral snarl.

"You have cost me a very important specimen, you worthless failure of a girl!" he snapped, apparently forgetting that Ukitake was there.

"My deepest apologies Captain. The device must have failed just there. I'm sure I-," Nemu began before being interrupted by her Captain.

"I am sick and tired of your apologies! You fail and fail constantly! When I made you, you were meant to be perfect! All you do is ruin things. Do you know how rare a unique Gillian is, you wretch?!" Nemu fell silent again. Mayuri looked at her with hateful eyes.

"Perhaps it's time I teach you a lesson!" the maniacal Captain spat. Nemu looked up at him, eyes sombre.

"Please Master, I'm sorry," she said meekly, and Mayuri seemingly ignored her. He raised his bleached hand up to the girl.

"Hado number four, Byakurai!" the Captain snapped, and a bolt of lightning flew from his hand and pierced Nemu's upper chest. She cried out, but did not fall. She placed her hand over the wound, head hung low. Mayuri chuckled, before turning back to Ukitake.

"What are you still doing here? Didn't you notice that the hollow is gone?" he asked vehemently. Ukitake blinked.

Captain Kurotsuchi is such a bastard, but I can't get involved with another Squad. And I'd only cause trouble.

"Yes, I noticed…I'll head back to my barracks now," he said quietly. He made to leave.

"Goodnight Captain Kurotsuchi, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," he said, and walked away from the SRDI. He took one final glance back to see Mayuri drag Nemu by her hair into the SRDI facility.

And Jushiro Ukitake felt sick to the core.

Well that's the first chapter. Let's see how things turn out.

A small note- I'm not sure how regular I can update. Sometimes I'm busy, and I'm also currently working on a novel, and I'm a pretty dedicated gamer- so those activities all suck up a lot of time, I'm sorry.

Hope you enjoyed, EF.