Hi everyone! This is my first story on FF, but I am very proud of how it is going so far. I basically wrote a story on how I would fit into the Bleach universe, so my OC is loosely based on myself :) Please feel free to comment and tell me how you felt about it. I support any feedback that comes my way!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the Bleach characters, that is all the great master Tite Kubo.
Fire. There was fire everywhere. Umeko Ishimine was standing in the upstairs hallway of her home, seeing everything she knew burn into ashes.
"Mama! Papa! Where are you?!" the smoke was starting to cloud her vision, but she couldn't leave her parents behind. She ran into the flames where her parent's room was located, determined to find her parents and get her whole family out of the house alive. Suddenly, a strong arm looped around her waist and pulled her back.
"Sorry sweetie, but I can't let you go in there." A smooth voice said behind her and in a flash, she was outside still in the stranger's hold.
"My mama and papa are in there! Let me go! I need them!" Umeko screamed and kicked at the man holding her. She had to go back, she had to save them before it was too late. That's when she heard a low creak from the burning tea house/family home. The supports on the house finally gave up and the whole roof caved in, crushing her parents and their belongings.
Umeko's eyes widened, she let out a horrified scream and thrashed around, trying to break loose from the hold around her middle. All that she loved was burning right before her eyes and she was too weak to do anything. The man kept his grip on her as her anger turned into grief and her wails turned into quiet sobs. The cool night air felt like ice on her tear streaked face. Umeko turned around in those arms to look at the face of the person who saved her instead of her parents. She was greeted with solemn brown eyes, and an angular face. The fair skinned man had long golden hair and bangs that ended above his matching eyebrows. She looked down at her hands that were clutching his robes, his shihakusho and his white captain's haori. This man that had saved her was a soul reaper, a captain. All her life she wanted to be a soul reaper; to protect people from danger, to help people like this captain has done for her.
"You're okay now, kid." He said in a soft voice. She buried her face in his chest, her body shaking with silent sobs. The man hesitantly stroked her mess of long curly hair, she had a feeling that he wasn't used to comforting people, but it was better than nothing. Umeko wasn't sure how long he held her like that; when she finally calmed down completely and turned around, the fire had dwindled down to small flames and the house was mostly ash.
'What am I gonna do now?' she thought to herself. The thought of being alone in the world made her tear up again. Her parents were surely dead and she knew of no other family or adult that could take her in. People in the soul society considered her a freak; they have heard of the small child who shoots fire from her hands. That she lives above the Ishimine tea house in Inuzuri and is not to be seen by the public. Her parents said that they hid her for her own protection, but sometimes Umeko thought it was for the safety of the public that she remain hidden.
"Oi, kid." Umeko turned back around at the voice behind her, "You're coming with me. I can't let you stay here all night and Hiyori would have my ass if I left you by yourself, that annoying midget." He trailed off on the last of his sentence. Umeko wasn't sure who this 'Hiyori' person was, but she wasn't willing to stay with the house staring at it until sunrise.
The man stood up from his kneeling position in front of Umeko and then helped her to her feet as well. She looked down at her bare toes, noticing she had no sandals on. The blonde soul reaper seemed to have noticed as well because before she could say anything to him, he lifted her up from under her arms and sat her on his right shoulder.
As he walked down the dark path away from house, Umeko took one last look at the house she had always called home. The house where she was born, where she would help her Mama make tea for their customers and read to her Papa; her safe place was now just a pile smoking debris. She whimpered, unable to cry anymore that night. She shook her head, she needed to be strong; her mama and papa would want her to be strong for them and more importantly herself. Umeko took a deep breath and exhaled, turning forward to see where they were headed.
"Excuse me, Mr. Soul Reaper," her voice was quite raspy from crying. "where are we going?"
The captain sighed almost like he was irritated, "You can just call me Shinji, kid. We're going to the Seireitei. We need to get you checked out to make sure you're okay."
Umeko sniffed, Shinji seemed like a nice man. Maybe things would be alright.
When Shinji and Umeko came to the gates of the Seireitei, Umeko's eyes were drooping as the excitement of the night was starting to take a toll on the young girl. Shinji could feel her weight start to waver so he pulled her from his shoulder and carried her bridal style through the gate, making a beeline for the fourth division. Shinji had already sent his hell butterfly ahead to notify Captain Unohana of their arrival and as expected, she was waiting for them in front of the medical wing.
The black-haired captain bowed slightly "Captain Hirako, thank you for notifying me on your way here." She gave Umeko a gentle smile, "Hello there, my name is Captain Unohana. What is your name?"
Umeko curled up slightly in Shinji's arms then looked up at him for approval. He nodded at her, signaling that Unohana was a friend, so Umeko looked back at her and smiled back.
"My name is Umeko Ishimine, Miss Unohana." She said politely.
"That is a lovely name, Umeko." Unohana said, "Is it okay if we go inside so I can take a look at you and Captain Hirako here?" Umeko nodded and Unohana turned around to walk inside the building, Shinji following her with Umeko still in his arms.
They walked through the white hallways until Unohana opened a door into a room with an examination table and a set of cabinets. Shinji tried to set Umeko down on the examination table, but she panicked and would not let go of his robes. The blonde captain sighed in exasperation and sat down on the table with Umeko still in his arms.
"Miss Umeko, are you hurting at all?" Unohana asked the young girl. Umeko shook her head and sniffed, she was hurting, but it was nothing physical. The gentle captain hummed, "May I still check to see if you have any injuries?" Umeko thought for a second and then gave a small nod. Captain Unohana pulled back the sleeves of Umeko's sleeping yukata, examining her small tan arms and hands. She then moved to the young girl's legs and feet, noting that there were no burns whatsoever. She let go of Umeko's extremities and glanced at Shinji's arms. He had small, hand shaped burns on his left forearm which were already blistering.
"Captain Hirako, may I look at your arm?" Unohana reached her hand out to Shinji who looked at his arm with wide eyes. Without confirmation, Unohana took his arm and examined the burns. They were the size of Umeko's hands, almost exactly.
Umeko looked at the burns, tears running down her face. "Shinji, I'm so sorry!" She hugged his middle and buried her wet face in his chest. "This is all my fault! First Mama and Papa! Now Shinji! I can't control it!" Shinji and Unohana looked at each other with concerned faces, but it was Unohana who acted first by taking Umeko's shaking form and placing it in her lap. Umeko kept crying, looking down as she wrung her tiny hands. "Tonight, I had weird dream. There was a voice, it kept telling me to say it's name. It would get angry when I said that I didn't know." She looked up at the female captain and then back down at her hands. "They don't happen a lot, but when they do...I wake up with my pillow on fire. A-and sometimes when I get really mad or really sad, my hands burn things when I touch them. That's why Shinji has burns..." She wailed. "I'm a freak!"
Unohana hushed her, "Shh, my dear. You're not a freak, you're a very special child who has a very special gift. We can teach you to control it, here in the Seireitei. None of this is your fault, nobody blames you for what happened. I am sure your parents would be proud of you for being so brave." She hugged Umeko and then gave her back to Shinji who still wore a confused look on his face. Unohana took his injured arm again and performed healing kido on the burns.
Umeko's red rimmed eyes were glued to the blue light in front of her, her mouth slightly hung open in awe. The healing captain looked at her and smiled, "This is called kido, Umeko. We soul reapers use our spiritual power to perform kido spells for many different things. I'm healing Captain Hirako's burns now."
The burns on Shinji's arm slowly disintegrated into faint scars, still the shape of Umeko's hands. When Unohana was finished, Umeko ran her small fingers across the scars and then placed her hand on them to match the shape. She looked up at Shinji, her dark brown eyes were wide and filled with sorrow.
"Don't worry about it, kid. It doesn't hurt." Shinji gave her a wide grin which Umeko returned hesitantly, he then stood up with her in his arms.
"Captain Hirako, you should take her home and get her washed up. I shall bring some robes for her." Captain Unohana said with a smile. Shinji nodded his thanks and left the room with Umeko.
On the way to Shinji's quarters, Umeko barraged the blonde captain with questions which he reluctantly answered, slightly annoyed by the sudden curiosity of the red headed child.
"How old are you?"
"That's classified."
"Why does Miss Unohana have a ponytail that looks like a beard?"
"I have no idea"
"Can I be a soul reaper?"
"Sure, kid"
"Can I be a captain like you, Mr. Shinji?"
He chuckled, "Of course, kid. Just gotta train yer ass off."
"Are you super powerful?"
"Yes, the most powerful captain ever."
Umeko gave him a skeptical look, "Why do I feel like you're lying?"
Shinji feigned shock and placed his hand over his heart, "Oh dear Umeko, why would you say such things? I'm hurt."
Umeko giggled as Shinji slid open the door to his quarters. "Wow, Shinji! This is where you live?"
"Yeah, kid. This is my humble abode." Shinji said as he let Umeko down on the cold bamboo flooring. She wiggled her toes and walked around his front room, looking at all the unfamiliar items that adorned the living space. There was a knock on the door and Shinji slid it back open to reveal Captain Unohana with a large beige canvas bag.
"Hello, Captain Hirako. Here are the clothes for Umeko." She handed the bag to him and look around to find Umeko. Shinji let out a chuckle, "She's exploring right now before I give her a bath."
Unohana smiled and then her face dropped slightly. "Captain Hirako, this girl is very special as you can tell. She also has immense spiritual pressure for a soul her size and age, she could outrank a seated officer easily."
Shinji nodded, "Yes, your point being?"
"My point being, you must be ready to help her train and control her powers. She could be a great danger to the Soul Society if she is reckless." Captain Unohana smiled once more, "Although, I doubt we will have to worry about her. She seems to be a very kind child."
With that, the captains said their goodbyes and Unohana turned around to head back to her own division.
"Okay, brat, time to take a bath and get to bed." Shinji called out into his rooms as he slid the door shut. There was no answer from the young girl. He searched his rooms until he found her in his bedroom, fast asleep on his futon. Shinji tucked her into the blankets and she snuggled into them. The corners of his mouth quirked up slightly, this little girl was very special indeed.
That's the first chapter! It actually took a while for me to finish because I had writers block and I started on other parts of my story lol But it is now complete! Don't forget to give feedback!
xoxo, LadyLucifer666