==Insert General Disclaimer here==
"italics" = english
'italics' = thoughts
'bold italics' = zanpakuto/hollow
"It's going to be okay. You're going to a better place." Ichigo said as he tapped the hilt to the girls head. As the girl started to fade from existence she shot a glare at Ichigo.
"I didn't even understand what you were saying, bakayaro."
"Eh?" Ichigo rubbed the back of his head, confusion written all over his face. "Do you know what she said Rukia?"
"Nope. She must be a foreigner. Her soul should go back to the proper society anyways so don't worry yourself over it." Rukia told him.
What she didn't know was that the spirit was conflicted as to which one it should go to. One half wanted to go to North America where she was born, and the other to China where she felt at home. In it's confusion it ended up being whisked away to Rukongai where it was assigned a district like all the others.
-linebreak-
"Junrinan? Is that where I'm going? Jeez, thank god I watched lots of anime as a child. At least I'll know thank you." The girl muttered as she was dropped off at the district.
She looked around the area and sighed. She couldn't read any of the signs, though some kanji did seem familiar to her. She hardly understood what anyone was saying, only catching useless words such as thank you and a few greetings.
"Hey! Move out of the way!"
The girl turned around to see a group of rowdy looking boys headed her way. They were loud and obnoxious by the looks of it and most of the crowd around them seemed quite annoyed.
They were almost up in her face now with who she assumed to be the leader standing in front with his arms crossed. "Didn't you hear me? Move out of the way!" He snarled, his hand pulling back to give her a shove.
She sidestepped the hand and grabbed it, twisting the limb around into an arm bar.
"I should just break this off. I'll be doing the town a favor it seems." She muttered, applying pressure.
Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground.
She hit the dirt road harshly and winced as her hands and arms scraped against the rocks. The girl moved to get up but was forced down to the ground again by a solid kick to the side.
"I forgot about his friends." She grunted, clenching her teeth from the pain of the onslaught of attacks directed towards her.
"You got a death wish stupid? Next time we won't be so nice. C'mon boys." The leader ordered.
She watched them walk away and cursed them with every step they took. Her vision blurred and she felt herself being picked up off the ground and carried somewhere. She could also make out the sounds of someone talking and then the smell of an old house. Not rotting, just old.
"Lay her down here. My grandchildren are hardly home anymore. They won't mind."
She could feel the soft surface of whatever she laid on, a bed probably, and let out a small noise as she felt her clothes being removed. 'They must being treating my injuries… I should thank them.'
"Arigatou gozaimasu." She mumbled.
"Sleep now child. There will be plenty of time for talking in the morning." The old lady told her with a smile.
The girl nodded and closed her eyes as sleep took her faster than the old lady could leave the room.
-linebreak-
When she woke up later she noticed that she wasn't alone.
Peeking her eye open she looked at the person who was occupying the room and hoped they wouldn't notice.
"So you're up are you? What is your name?"
It was the old lady again.
"I'm sorry but I don't know Japanese." The girl said as she sat up. She watched the old lady with hope that she knew a little English.
The old lady looked at her in confusion for a moment before pointing to herself. "O-baa-chan."
"O-baa-chan." The girl repeated the name and then pointed to herself. "Mei-yin."
"It seems I have much to teach you child." She smiled. "But it is very nice to meet you Mei-yin."
Mei-yin only understood her name but smiled back knowing the old lady was saying something good.
-linebreak-
A year later….
With Obaachan's lessons Mei-yin was now able to understand most of what was being said to her and was able to produce a few phrases. It took her a while to do either of these things and because of this she was often mocked by the other children for being slow. It didn't help that she would yell at them a few minutes after the insults were delivered.
She could also read to some extent and recognized most of the characters immediately. She struggled with the kanji except for the familiar ones that she had come across when she had learned Chinese before.
Despite the accomplishments she had made in learning the language she still lacked the confidence she had before her death, specifically before the first day in Junrinan. She had taken up practicing her katas in a secluded area where few people passed by. They would never match up to a shinigami's level but they could at least help her against that group from the tenth district that liked to pass by now and again.
She also learned how to control the power that lay within her a little better. She could always feel it there ever since she was a child and had managed to keep it under control and under cover. The better she hid it the less the monsters would come after her. But it seemed after her death the power had increased and so she had to relearn how to hide it once again.
Watching the shinigami that passed by on occasion she had learned how to use this power to do things she never thought was possible before. She could walk on water, on air even and move long distances with a single step.
Everyday she would practice, using all her free time on exercises that would help her control the power she felt and the techniques she learned how to use. It left her with a gnawing hunger but also the satisfaction of the accomplishments she had made.
"Tadaima Obaachan!" Mei-yin called out, slipping off her shoes.
"In the kitchen dear, we have a guest over come introduce yourself." The old lady called out.
Mer-yin walked into the kitchen and saw a shinigami in the kitchen with her obaachan.
'I can't believe I think of her as my grandmother already.' She thought.
"Hello! My name is Hinamori Momo. I used to live with Obaachan before I became a shinigami." She said with a small bow.
Mei-yin bowed back. "Ah… my name is Mei-yin. To Mei-yin."
"So I see you've managed to replace us finally Obaachan." Momo giggled.
"Don't be silly child. I could never replace you or Toshirou." Her grandmother chuckled. "She's been here for a few months now and we've made lots of progress. The poor girl hardly understood any Japanese when she came."
"Really? I've never heard of that happening before." Momo gasped.
Mei-yin seemed to shrink back at this topic. She could only barely keep up with the conversation but she could understand what they were talking about at least.
"Mhmm. It is unusual but it does happen occasionally." Her grandmother told her. "But enough of that. Why don't we get some tea? Could you put the kettle on Mei?"
Mei-yin nodded and went to go boil the kettle. She caught her reflection on it's surface and smiled a little, she still looked the same as the day she died.
Her hair was a light blue, with some spots fading to silver. It was held up in a short ponytail with only the bangs loose which framed both sides of her face. She wore a black eye patch over her left eye and the right one was a dark brown. Her skin was pale and slightly burnt in some spots from when she had been out in the sun too long. Those seemed to be fading though.
She sighed as she examined the dark roots of her hair. It seems her aging has slowed considerably as her hair had hardly grown at all. "I wonder how long I'll be stuck here for." She asked herself.
'For many years to come master.'
'I guess without my pills now you can talk to me more and more can't you?'
'Later on you will come to realize that I am more than a simple figment of your imagination. Ask the shinigami she can tell you.'
The piercing whistle of the kettle broke her from her thoughts.
Mei-yin thought about what the voice said as she served the tea, glancing at the shinigami at the table every so often.
"Hinamori-san?"
"Call me Momo." She smiled.
Mei-yin nodded and continued. "What…ahh… is it normal to hear voices?" She asked carefully, hoping the shinigami would understand what she was asking.
"You mean voices as in people talking, or voices in your mind?" She asked.
"In your mind. There is a… thing. It talks to me often, more now…. now that I am dead. It says you may know." Mei-yin nodded.
Momo gasped. "That's a zanpakuto! Have you heard it's name?"
"Only pieces now. I can't… couldn't hear it before at all." Mei-yin watched as different expressions flashed across her face. One almost seemed to be of worry directed towards… obaachan?
"Don't worry Momo-chan, nothing has happened yet." She smiled. "Actually, if it weren't for the fact she gets hungry I'd say she was completely normal."
Momo nodded and let out a sigh of relief. "Shiro-chan used to hear his zanpakuto in dreams." She told mei-yin. "But by the feel of it you shouldn't have to worry much." She smiled.
Mei-yin nodded. "So a zanpakuto…that's your blade right? How… how does mine speak when I do not have one?"
"It's a piece of your soul. You usually get a normal sword before your zanpakuto manifests though, and that's only if you go to the academy." Momo explained.
"Ah, arigatou Momo-san."
"Are you going to become a shinigami Mei-chan?" Obaachan asked.
"Maybe." Mei-yin said, her voice a little distant.
"Maybe one day you will end up in my division or even in Shiro-chan's." Momo said excitedly. "Ah! Look at the time! I was supposed to be back at my division ten minutes ago!"
The small shinigami got up quickly and waved goodbye to them both. "Bye Obaachan, Mei-chan."
"Come visit soon Momo, I'll be waiting." Her grandmother smiled.
Momo nodded and quickly shunpoed out towards the sereitei.
"I hear they will be starting to take in applications next month. Be sure to keep practicing on your Japanese."
"Hai Obaachan." Mei nodded, running off to start her studies.
"Such wonderful grandchildren I have." The old lady smiled to herself, sipping her tea contentedly.