The Winding Path

Chapter 1

May Death Take You

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, the Tite does. I only own my OCs and OOCs

Warnings: This is AU and contains possible spoilers. Also this is considered a part of my Mi Hermano AU so it has spoilers for that. Another warning is that this contains character death.

No flames please, but constructive criticism is always welcome.

Note: This starts a few months after the Lady of the lake tells Byakuya what Hisana wanted.

It had been a while since her body had cooled. It had taken several weeks for anyone to find her, and even then it had been because people had noticed a smell. She had watched as they investigated the scene of the crime, but then she had also watched as her body had started to slowly deteriorate.

She hoped her killers would face justice, but by now she didn't have a lot of hope. It had degraded slowly, as she watched her body slowly rot and fester.

When the investigation was over she didn't leave the house she had died in, she was afraid to.

If anyone could see her, they would laugh.

She was dressed as she was when she was murdered, in nothing. Not even a pair of underwear or a single piece of simple jewelry.

Most of her days were spent in the room of her death, sitting in the fetal position in a corner with the bed blocking the side not blocked by the wall.

From time to time she would look out the window, and notice that there was still crime tape on the house.

Also from time to time a man in black samurai attire would enter the room. He had a sword as well and the woman feared what he might do to her.

So she hid in a way that only she could, she couldn't be seen or touched. She didn't know how she did what she did. She just knew that it happened if she wanted to not be found.

The day that the crime scene tape went down, a woman in samurai attire and a white long sleeved haori came in through the window. Her eyes were gentle and her long black hair was braided in front of her neck.

"Hello," she called as she walked into the room, "I will do you no harm. My name is Retsu Zaraki, it is a pleasure to meet you."

For a long moment the woman debated on whether or not to give her name then, "My name is Tarra. Tarra Burns."

"You have hidden quite well from those that were sent to bring you to the other side," Retsu said and then moved to the end of the bed.

"I will hide from you as well if you continue towards me with that katana," Tarra warned as she backed further into the corner.

Retsu nodded and then placed her zanpaku-tô on a nearby dresser, she then knelt down a few yards from Tarra and observed her.

She observed the graceful structure of the young woman's face, and how her medium length hair fell loosely around her face. This caused her to look like there were dark violet feathers, almost black, framing her features, though only the tips were of that color, the rest was a silvery color that could nearly be white.

She observed two tattoos, one on each shoulder, of Chinese style dragons one violet, on the right shoulder, and the other yellow, on the left. Each dragon twined around Tarra's arms with the tails ending at the elbows.

Retsu noticed how Tarra had positioned herself in the room, and what it said about her mental state.

She also noticed one other thing, "What happened to the chain that was attached to your chest?"

"Chain? There was never a chain attached to my chest," Tarra argued, "I died and was thrown out of my body."

Retsu remained calm at this and then spoke, "You need to go to the other side. I have a way to send you over, but it requires me to have my katana."

"If it comes unsheathed then I will disappear again," Tarra said as she watched Retsu stand.

Tarra watched at Retsu grabbed up her zanpaku-tô and then felt the end of the hilt bump softly into her forehead. She blinked for a moment and then lifted her eyebrows up at Retsu.

"Was that supposed to do something?"

Retsu blinked a few times and then placed her zanpaku-tô back on the dresser before pulling out what looked like a cell phone. She dialed a number and waited for a moment before speaking, "Hello Urahara, we appear to have a problem."

End Chapter 1