The Fay
By Demon-of-Cats
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, the Tite does. I own my OC's and OOC's
Warnings: This is AU and has some spoilers. It contains hints of character death and hints of Urahara/Yoruichi.
No Flames please, but constructive criticism is welcome.
Note: This starts a few days after Haruka and Himiko are born in Chapter 27 of my Mi Hermano AU.
Moria was in pain. Her body refused to cooperate with her and she could barely move, let alone sit up. That wasn't the only pain she was in, though.
Sajin had told her about Mikan, he had held her close in his arms as he told her, in barely a whisper, what had happened. He told her how Mikan had died and what he had named her. He also told her the reason he had to name her, to stave off the bad luck.
He told her that everything would be alright.
A huge part of her heart wanted to scream that it wouldn't be. She'd lost one of her babies! How could it be alright? How could she just loose a child she hadn't even gotten to meet? Why had she been taken from her? WHY?
She didn't scream, but she did cry. She cried until she couldn't any longer and then fell into a deep sleep.
When she awoke, she could feel Sajin next to her on the bed still. He was sitting up, so she opened one eye slightly to see what he was doing.
One of their little girls was in his arms, taking a bottle, though looking much more asleep than awake.
Moria watched for a moment and then whispered, "I'll take her."
Sajin turned and glanced at his wife. He smiled slightly and then helped her to get into a more comfortable position, before handing Haruka to her.
They sat like that for a while, Sajin getting Himiko when the little one called for it.
After the twins were fed and cleaned up, Sajin had to do the second part himself as Moria couldn't walk to do such; they were placed in their bassinette to sleep.
For a long while there was a tense silence in the room and then Moria spoke again, "Why name her Mikan though? We never talked about that name so why . . . why Mikan?"
Sajin paused in thought for a moment before speaking, "There are many tales in my people's folklore about stillborn babes. Many tales about what happens to their soul if they do or do not get a name. With my kind it is believed that there is a fifth plane of existence, a world parallel to the soul society, the king's dimension, and the world of the living but apart from Hueco Mundo. It is where the souls of stillborn babes go from the world of the living and the soul society a few days after their 'birth.'"
"Where is it they go? What is this place called?"
Sajin chuckled sadly, "I was getting to that. It is the world of the Fay, or Faerie. It is said that those stillborn souls become fairies and come back to see their families. The reason the family doesn't often see them is because fairies can only be seen by the eyes of children, and the pure of heart. You lose the right to be called a child at the age of ninety-one here in Soul Society and the age of nine in the world of the living."
"How many ways can one not be considered, 'pure of heart?'"
"Quite a few, but the biggest is the first sip of alcohol in any form. Fairies can't stand the stuff, it's a poison that instantly kills them, which is why I won't allow cough syrup in the house. Call me crazy but, I believe these stories. I could swear that when I was younger I knew a fairy, he was playful and I would talk to him a lot. His name was Tohru, and no one else could see him. He was real though, he kept me out of danger. If he didn't want to go outside then I knew it would be a bad idea to go without him."
Moria thought about that for a long time and then thought back on her own life. Back to a certain event that had happened long ago.
"I think I had a friend like that. I remember trying to introduce her to Shinji, and he just laughed and asked if she was my imaginary friend. I was so hurt, and I asked her why Shinji couldn't see her once we were alone again. She said something like what you said, that Shinji's eyes were the eyes of an adult and that he couldn't see the truth like my eyes could."
Sajin nodded, "Most likely a fairy then. Was she dressed in the color of a flower?"
Moria nodded, "Yes, she was dressed in scarlet and every time I saw her she carried both a red rose and a red carnation with her. Her hair was even red."
Sajin nodded, "All fairies carry a carnation the color of their clothes and hair, the other plant is one that naturally matches their color. Tohru carried a green carnation and a blade of grass."
"But why did you need to name her?" Moria asked.
"Because the soul comes back with or without a name, but the deeds they do are different depending on whether they received a name or not. Without a name they do bad deeds to their family, breaking dishes, creaking floorboards, things just going bad for the family, but, with a name things are very different.
"They come to play and give their family what little help that they can. They move little items, like keys, so that they are always in the next place you look, or they are right in front of you when you give up looking for the item. They make their siblings laugh at random intervals, and keep them entertained long enough that mommy or daddy can get something ready for them."
Moria remained silent for a long moment and then asked the question that was bugging her most, "But why Mikan?"
"Mikan was a fairy," Sajin said, "Who earned the right to be reborn through all the good deeds she did. Fairies can be reborn to their siblings, if they have enough good deeds under their belt. It can be hard because they often don't have enough time before their siblings are too old to have children any longer. But, Mikan was special. She proved it wasn't just the amount of good deeds done, but they type of deeds done as well. She helped her siblings get through many things, including, surviving the attack of a mad dragon, and she didn't just help her siblings, she helped the entire town she lived in survive. The children that could see her helped to lead everyone to safety. She also helped them calm the dragon the very next day, because she didn't want to see the dragon killed."
"Lady Zaraki told me that you said it was a long story. That doesn't seem that long."
Sajin chuckled, more amused now than before, "It is a long story when told properly. When you tell it to someone who isn't related to you by marriage or blood, the fairies prefer that you tell it properly. It's more of a ballad than a story any way, and I have a terrible singing voice. I'll ask mom to sing it for us when she comes over next, she loves the story and will sing it at the drop of a hat if you allow her."
Moria smiled slightly and then blinked her eyes drowsily before falling back to sleep.
(Two weeks later)
Moria was home and able to move on her own again. She still was sad, but it wasn't a crippling pain in her heart any longer. The stories Sajin had told her helped to get her though the worst of the pain.
She was contemplating the stories when the twins began to laugh unexpectedly. They were just across the room, and there were no sounds that she could hear that could be funny to them. She walked over to the bassinette and looked inside. They were still laughing and looked like they were laughing from being tickled.
The scene was too cute not to take a picture so Moria quickly grabbed up her camera and snapped a few quick photos before checking them over.
A surprise came a few days later after they were developed.
A small light, no bigger than the babies themselves, was between Haruka and Himiko. It touched them in each picture, though in each it looked a little different.
Yoruichi and Urahara came to visit and she showed them the pictures.
For a long moment, Urahara just stared at the pictures then he grabbed a piece of paper and laid it over the pictures before placing it over a window that light was shining through, and tracing certain things in the picture.
Moria and Yoruichi both gasped and Urahara smiled, "Can you see it now, the face and ears, and the little tail between the legs? I've only ever seen pictures like this in the world of the living, never from soul society. I'd say the little one you lost came to visit her sisters Moria, but I don't understand how."
Moria smiled happily, tears in her eyes, "She's a fairy. Little Mikan is a fairy."
"A fairy?" Urahara asked.
Moria sniffed, sad and happy at the same time, "Ask Sajin, he can explain it better than I can. He told me about some of the beliefs of his people after the twins were born and we lost little Mikan. I wasn't sure what to believe before . . . but I believe them now."
End