Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach
Yay! We're only two chapters away from finishing this string before I start another! So in this prompt, I thought it would be a good time to have Mayuri talk with Kisuke and Nemu interact with Ururu. It just seemed fitting, you know. So, please read and review! Sorry if any of the characters sound a little OOC here! I wrote this really quickly!
Prompt: View
Tsumugiya Ururu swept. With the broom in her hand, she had gone outside to sweep up the front of the Urahara Shop in order to have it presentable for the customers; Jinta was inside the Shop, practicing with his soccer ball by bouncing it repeatedly upon his knee. Tessai was upstairs cleaning up and he had said that once he was done, they would go out shopping to pick up their dinner.
Without warning, shadows descended upon her and she was wary to know who could be its source for never had she, in a long time, felt such a presence that warned of her danger. Yet there was no danger, a voice chided her. Her slow gaze turned, following the shadows to two pairs of feet.
Black shoes, the both of them. One was a man's, the other belonged to a woman. Her attention went first to the man then to the woman. He wore a suit of street grey and a dark violet tie. She would've thought him to be a teacher until she saw the shock of blue hair upon his head and the hornet patterned earphones he sported. He looked something akin to a Yankee delinquent by the scar he had on his chin and they way his eyes glared as though roaring, "Fuck off!". A foreigner she presumed because of the dark complexion of his skin, not like those of the native Japanese.
His companion was all at once his opposite yet there was a strange resemblance that Ururu could not place or name, perhaps it was the way they stood together… The woman looked both too old and too young in the fuku uniform she wore; that her countenance was that of a person who had seen beyond her years to be a mere high school-er, then that her face appeared as similar to what Ururu saw every morning when she looked in the mirror. A long braid was swung over her shoulder.
Perhaps the two were delinquents as the both of them bore swords on their persons; the man held his on hand while the girl had tied hers to her back in such a manner that the hilt pointed downwards.
Ururu stood still before the pair that appeared before her. One instinct told her to run, another told her to keep still and they would possibly pass her by, another told her to fight.
Suddenly, there was the voice of her employer, Urahara Kisuke. "Mayu-chan!" he exclaimed, coming out of his shop with open arms, "It's been years!"
He would've hugged the blue-haired man if not that the blue haired man suddenly stepped back to allow his braided partner to suddenly deliver an axe kick. Said axe kick would've surely hurt the sandy-haired shop owner had he not suddenly moved back as well, the heel landing just an inch before the spot where the tip of his nose had been.
"O-ho! And this must be the Nemu-san that I've heard so much about." Kisuke laughed, not a drop of sweat or a hair out of place. "Ah, a high school girl's uniform… Naughty, naughty… Tell me, do you still read those ecchi books? Especially that series with the magical girl who skips school all the time to defeat monsters, all the while wearing a sailor suit and a pair of-"
He was interrupted by the blue haired man's, "Shut up!"
The braided girl, Nemu as Ururu now remembered, recoiled back into a standing position alongside the blue-haired man, Mayu as Ururu then dubbed.
Mayu sneered, "Don't call me by that stupid name."
"But it's so cute!" Kisuke squee-ed.
Again, he narrowly dodged a strike to his neck by Nemu and caught her wrist, twisting her arm so that she bared her back to him and bringing her to a knee. "Awww…. That's not nice, Mayu-chan. Sending your lieutenant after me? I used to be a part of the Onmitsukido's Detention Unit, remember that?"
Though his voice was silky as cream and sweet, Ururu knew that to be a discreet warning. He released Nemu who slowly ascended back to her height, but did not return to Mayu's side.
Mayu demanded a product of Kisuke that Ururu could not hear exactly nor did she even know if they carried whatever could be its closest.
Nonetheless, Kisuke proclaimed that he had a good stock of the product and would gladly sell it to him at a discount "for old times' sake".
Mayu walked past her with sure steps, waves of spiritual pressure just coming off of him, following Kisuke into their shop. Nemu remained outside, stoic even.
Ururu looked up behind her brook and directed with a ginger hand, "You… you can go inside the shop too."
Nemu looked down at her, green eyes wide and vapid, and nodded her head, "Thank you…" her words trailed off as though she was trying to find some way to name her.
"Tsumugiya Ururu." she introduced herself, fidgeting nervously with the handle of the broom in her grip.
She thanked her once more, including to mention her name and walked into the shop.
As Nemu entered, Ururu placed her broom against the front wall of the shop and followed inside. Jinta was nowhere to be seen though she had her suspicions that he had gone upstairs to complain to Tessai about the newcomers. She watched as Kisuke retrieved a box from a high shelf, the two shinigami - she knew from their mention of things affiliated with the Soul Society and the Seireite - stood waiting behind him.
"So how long are you staying here in the real world for, Mayu-chan?" Kisuke asked as he handed the box to Nemu.
Mayu answered with a sneer, "I've been here for almost a week and I'm expected to return to the Seireitei the morning after tomorrow."
There was something akin to a crack of lightening in the air that quickly disappeared. "And you waited this long to visit me?"
"This isn't a visit!" he yelled.
Kisuke was about to say something when Tessai walked downstairs with Jinta and both their eyes fell on Mayu.
"Kurotsuchi Mayuri." Tessai muttered.
Mayu looked to him and grinned a face-splitting grin that caused shivers to run up and down Ururu's spine, reminding her of one night that the four of them had watched a horror movie at Jinta's request.
"Tsukabishi Tessai." he returned with a hint of malice and madness.
Ururu felt something tingling inside of her, the instinct to fight getting stronger by the second. But it was quickly halted by Kisuke stepping in between the two men and pointing to himself, "Urahara Kisuke!"
He turned to Tessai and mentioned something about dinner. Tessai replied that he was going now to pick up dinner and asked if he should pick up extra.
"Of course!' Kisuke exclaimed as he whipped his fan out in front of his face and started fanning himself.
Tessai was heading out the door when he obviously noticed Nemu. He stopped in front of her and looked, really looked at her. He briskly held out an open hand to her as to offer to shake hands. She accepted it hesitantly. He introduced himself first by his full name and that he was an employee at the Urahara Shop.
She returned the introduction with first her name and that she was the lieutenant of the twelfth division of the Gotei 13.
Ururu was already by Tessai's and Jinta's side. Tessai looked back to Kisuke and asked if Nemu was coming along.
Kisuke turned quick to Mayu, "Why not? Our kids can play a little bit together and Tessai will be watching them."
Mayu shrugged his shoulders and looked away.
Tessai suggested to Nemu that she leave her sword behind at the shop since it would seem really suspicious for a high school-er to carry around a blade.
She looked to Mayu and not a word was exchanged between them save for looks(that were none too friendly). "Take your zanpakuto with you. I'm not going to watch it." he told her.
She nodded her head to him, offering a little bow, "Yes, Mayuri-sama."
There were more looks shared between them and hardly another word. His eyes narrowed at her while she nodded her head forward again. "And if you get into any trouble, so help me." he warned her.
It was so tiny. Barely noticeable by others who don't pay attention. But Ururu saw it as clear as the shadow of a bird atop the full moon. She saw the little turned up corner of the mouth, Nemu's mouth, as she bowed and then the locks that framed her face obscured the view. "Yes, Mayuri-sama."
They were quick to leave, readying themselves with a shopping list and some money.
Just as they were leaving, Ururu heard Kisuke ask, "Well then, shall I break out the tea or the sake?"
They had gone through the markets and delis, a few of the neighbours greeted Nemu as though they had known her for quiet some time and Tessai thought it odd but did not say anything about it. Jinta had run ahead somewhere but Tessai knew that he would be alright. It was Ururu he worried more about by her meek and shy demeanour. Looking at the two of them, the way that they kept their hands locked together in front of them and gazed to the side to look through the windows, he thought them almost like sisters. They could very well pass off as sisters. In fact, he knew that Ururu's origins did not differ much from the braided young woman and so he wondered if all those who were 'not born' were always so quiet. Jinta came to mind until he reminded himself that Jinta was a boy and this effect could possibly only manifest itself in created beings of the gentler sex. What Nemu bought did not differ much from what Ururu bought, though the differences of variety between them was few. Tessai carried the larger and heavier of their buys, having to insist to Nemu that it would not be polite to make her carry heavy things(and it would be a blow on his masculinity).
Shopping went by very quickly for the two of them and on their way back to the Urahara shop, they passed by a park. Quiet though she was and meticulous about working, Tessai knew how much Ururu still loved to play like a little child.
He took Ururu's bag from her and seated himself at a bench, telling her to go ahead and play while he watched. Nemu remained standing by the bench where Tessai sat. He told her too to go and play. She replied nothing, looking as though she was processing the thought. He was quick to take away her bag of groceries away from her and waving his hand off for her to play. She remained standing where she was but her hands went to the strap that attacked her zanpakuto to her back.
He told her that he would watch her zanpakuto and that she should enjoy herself.
She looked too young in a sense. And as she ran to where Ururu was, he was suddenly clouded with the thought that there was no Nemu but two Ururus. Nemuru and Urumu. The setting sun was mixing his words around.
He observed and guarded them carefully as they played. He had seen Ururu's fighting skills before and yet to see her as she was always incited him to throw himself between her and danger, thinking that it was no place for her. Like Kisuke, he thought of Ururu as his child too.
Ururu was sitting by herself at the swings until Nemu approached her. It looked to be that Nemu was about to take a seat at the other swing until Ururu made a request of her. Nemu nodded her head and went behind Ururu, giving the girl a push. She was strong in that the swing had already reached a good height on the first push. Nemu kept her hands ready, constantly giving pushes, but it could be seen that she was carefully measuring her strength in order for the swing to continuously maintain the same height it reached or higher.
He saw them smile. Her smile was very small that he had almost missed it, but he had saw it.
Most of his attentions went to Ururu. She did not squeal or laugh out loud but her smile was more noticeable and brighter. Her face flushed and her hair flew everywhere, one of the pigtails coming looser and looser with each swing. She laughed silently, smiling brightly. Tessai felt poetic while he watched the two of them play. It was like witnessing an acceleration of blossoming flowers. Was this how gardeners felt, so proud, to see what nature could give them if they only contributed a little concern and care?
And Ururu jumped. Gracefully. From the swings and landed with a soft thud on the ground, her feet steady. Nemu watched sans emotion at Ururu, Ururu stood up, her knees unscarred. Tessai remained in his seat. Ururu pointed to the play structure. Nemu nodded and ran to the girl to go alongside with her. Ururu suddenly tripped forward and landed on her knees and hands.
He was about to get up when he saw that Nemu was already tending to her. Ururu stood with a shy expression on her face, doe-eyed like the child she appeared as. Nemu was on her knees before her, patting the dirt from Ururu's skirt and straightening it. She was holding both of Ururu's hands and asked her something that Tessai could not hear from where he was sitting. Ururu replied with a nod. Nemu stood up and held her hand as the two of them walked cautiously to the play structure.
Their play was silent. The only sounds was the creaking of the chains of the swing as the wind blew and the running of shoes against metal. Tessai was enjoying the scene and the quietude. They were playing well together.
Suddenly, there was Jinta's voice and an assortment of children. He was calling for Ururu, selfish little boy, to be the referee for them in their game. Ururu, selfish but only because she was compliant to whatever was said or asked of her, went to Jinta but not before offering an apologetic gaze to Nemu. Nemu was just as meek as Ururu and did not stop her; but went to Tessai's bench and sat down beside him at some distance.
He handed her back her zanpakuto which she did not hesitate to reattach to her back. He asked her if she had had fun playing with Ururu.
She replied that she did.
He asked her if she often played with the children of the Gotei 13 because she seemed to know how to handle children well, Ururu rarely smiled for anyone else but him and Kisuke.
Very few children joined the Gotei 13 now, though admission was for all ages, entrance to the Gotei 13 had a minimum age of a few centuries and so 'children' souls were not the norm as it must've been centuries ago. The explanation from her was obvious that she did not often play with children.
He complimented her that she would make a good mother someday if even she could have Ururu come out of her shell. And then it felt like the wrong thing to say.
"It is not possible for me." she mentioned to him.
He raised a brow at her.
She still did not look at him, but she explained herself, "My work involves me working with many chemicals and so my body has become stronger for it, but the exposure has made it unable to conceive." And have children of my own, he continued the thought for her.
She was younger than him, that was for sure, and her countenance had her appear even younger to him - closer in age to little Ururu. A woman who doesn't want children does not act like how she did with Ururu, only women who long for children act like that. His instincts were true in that, Reader.
"I'm sorry for bringing this up." he apologized.
She shook her head and she did not cry, "This does not affect me as it once did before." She sighed, "As long as I have my captain by my side, I want for nothing."
He nodded his head. "That is very optimistic of you." he complimented.
Suddenly, there was a loud shout and if Tessai had not heard it before he would not have recognized the shouter. Ururu called out for Nemu and told her to come and play. Jinta added his own two cents by telling her that she has to play on the other side's team since Akane-kun had to go home.
She looked to not have expected to be invited.
Tessai tapped her on the shoulder and told her to go and play.
She said that she didn't understand the game.
He quickly explained that it was only soccer, just remember to only kick the ball and never touch it with your hands. In order to win, all you had to do was kick the ball through the opposing team's net without the person in front of the net intercepting the ball.
She nodded and was about to run to where the group of children were calling her, when Tessai reminded her of the zanpakuto that was still attached to her back. She blushed.
He offered to keep watch over it while she played and she thanked him. The zanpakuto leaned against him as he sat comfortably back and watched the children play.
Nemu and Ururu remained silent, save for the whistle that she blew.
"So they said no?" Kisuke asked as he finished his sip of sake.
Mayuri had long finished his own cup and leaned leisurely back against the wall. "They said no." He then ran a tan hand through his blue hair.
Kisuke asked again, surprised more by the fact that since they had said no to the Kurotsuchis, the captain of the Gotei 13 were still alive and well. Yoruichi was still an admirable spy in checking up the order of the Soul Society and the captains who control its capital. "Right to both of you, they said no?"
He raised a brow and sneered at him with an awful look, "Has living like a human turned you slow? I'm not going to repeat it again for you!"
His hands gestured forward in a manner that was usually used to incite a person to calm down. And once he saw that Mayuri was not so excited, he continued the interview, "Well, what did you do once they told you?"
He shrugged his shoulders, his pupils looking up to the ceiling, "Nothing. I went home to go to sleep."
"You didn't argue or defend yourself?" Kisuke asked, pouring himself another cup of sake. He had always thought Mayuri to be determined in everything he did. Hell, he had recalled one occasion that Mayuri had successfully drove one of the inmates in the Maggots' Nest mad simply because the inmate had looked at him funny and called him shit-face. That incident had started a string of more unfortunate accidents resulting in the inmates going mad and resorting to suicide. All this done by Kurotsuchi Mayuri by being himself(a theory of scaring his victims to death had gone around) and so he had to be imprisoned for the sake of the other prisoners.
Mayuri explained what had happened, "I gave my piece and so did Nemu." His voice went into a manner that was sarcastic and border-line mocking, "They had said that they did not doubt our affection, but the relationship imposed itself on incest."
"Incest?" Kisuke asked with a quizzical brow.
Mayuri tsked, waving his hand about as he spoke, "Dear me, Urahara. Is something wrong with you that you question instead of contribute?"
He quickly apologized. Honestly, he felt it much more interesting to listen than to throw in a word or two. Scandal in the Seireite had always been numerous, but it was rare to hear of relations between Captains and Lieutenants of the same division. Mayuri's case was all the more delicious and he only wanted to hear every single detail of it. "But… Nemu-san was made with solely your DNA, wasn't she?"
Mayuri affirmed the question. "My DNA was all that was needed. Had I been a woman, I would've needed a second contributor."
"Essentially, you're marrying your clone, yourself actually. So I would've thought that they would've allowed it of you. It's no different than what Kon does to Ichigo's body when he's not using it." Kisuke pointed out. Logic between the two scientists often coincided though the one appeared often times the saner of the two.
For the first time perhaps in the time that Kisuke and Mayuri had known each other, the latter sported an expression of vapid emptiness then it filled with shock mortification and there was a blush upon his face. "That is disgusting! I don't need to know more about what hormonal boys do when they're alone!"
He laughed out loud, his head tossing back, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! That was just an example. But, it is understandable why they might label the relationship as incest. You always introduced her as your daughter, didn't you?"
Everyone knew about the mad scientist of the Gotei Captains; Kurotsuchi Mayuri and his Frankenstein-like daughter, Kurotuschi Nemu. Her origins were one that was often talked about in the beginning, but it was old new to Kisuke. Ururu and Jinta were something else altogether though they lacked a zanpakuto as Nemu had.
"What else could I call her?" Mayuri began, sounding like he was musing out loud more than speaking to him, "My clone? My experiment? I call her my creation enough as it is. She was my daughter before she was my creation, that was how I always thought of her. Her creation served its purpose as proof to what extent I could do with the technology of gikon and regai. But-"
"You were lonely."
His yellow eyes widened and he suddenly jumped from the wall. A fist pounded itself on the table and Kisuke was sure he heard a crack. "Did I say that? No! I simply wanted someone dependable at the very least to do whatever I asked of them without a moment's hesitation. All the shinigami that the academy sends me are cowards at heart!"
His response sounded sceptical to Kisuke. He asked another question that he had always been curious about to Mayuri's choice of gender for successor. "A daughter, then?"
He sat back, though not as comfortably as he had before and Kisuke could just read his uneasiness. Mayuri's hand waved about again as he explained his reason for daughter instead of son. "You know what lab work is like: one needs to be careful and prudent. That and it be very hard to control a son. A daughter proves often to be the meeker of the sex."
Kisuke leaned on his elbows on the table, careful in case the table should suddenly snap in two from Mayuri's earlier outburst. His face was sly and his tone was humorous. "And you fell in love with her."
"Love." Mayuri's face became distasteful at the word and his face took on anger. "I spit on it. It's just a name used for those in denial that what they feel is just an urge to mate."
And there Kisuke was thinking that Mayuri was using his excuse as an excuse for covering up the fact that he was really a softie(How, Reader?) and that he did love his daughter - in more way than one. At that, Kisuke inwardly blushed and sought to refrain from using daughter to describe Nemu whenever he would use her in a romantic affiliation to Mayuri.
"Then why marry her?" he asked.
Mayuri turned his head away and Kisuke was immediately reminded of some of Jinta's fits when it was obvious that he was lying. "Because it was advantageous for the both of us."
One corner of his mouth rose high and he laughed as he commented, "You are totally mad, you know."
"I know. Isn't it wonderful?" And Mayuri reached a hand across the table to the bottle to pour himself a cup of sake.
As Mayuri was taking a drink, Kisuke asked his colleague, "Hm, so what's the real reason for your visit up here? You usually visited the real world after wars and battles where there were corpses for you to play with. Had they banished you up here?"
He answered that he had only come for what was in the box. If he had not needed it, then Kisuke would not have seen him on this trip. There was a beat and a pause when Mayuri added, "Akon compromised everyone's memories of me and Nemu and the marriage."
Kisuke was surprised and offered nothing. Blinking for a few minutes, he finally said, "That's nice of him. He must really like you, Mayu-chan."
"Nice was not on his mind." he informed a growl and a snarl on his teeth.
Kisuke raised a well-versed brow and his smile dimmed, "Ah, you suspect that your old assistant, Akon, was the one who told the captains of your marriage?"
Mayuri did not nod his head, but there was nothing but affirmation in his words and his voice, "That stunt he pulled with the memories cinched it for me. I knew it was him then. Out of everybody, Akon had the most to gain from my eventual ruin. Suppose I was driven to excuse myself as captain, Nemu would follow my own example and leave with me even if I had not ordered it and the SDRI would be under his control. As next in rank behind Nemu he would possibly rise to chief of the SDRI then captain of the twelfth division. Everything of my legacy would be taken by him just as I had taken yours. And I was not blind to his fondness for Nemu nor to the fact that a certain number of footage had gone missing from the surveillance room. All evidence had pointed to him and any longer I would've literally killed him."
"I find it odd for you that you didn't do anything." Kisuke repeated his thoughts verbally to Mayuri.
He tsked his colleague as his head turned to face him, a calculating gleam in his eyes. "I figure that I should just keep Nemu by my side and away from him. I would never have thought to use her as an asset to cause torment to another man, but it works. And though he is a shameless character, a bastard to even dare do such a thing to me, he is still a damn good scientist."
Kisuke suddenly turned his head to the direction from where his name was called. Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, and Nemu returned; each of them with a bag in one hand. He greeted the tall burly man, standing up to give him a pat on the shoulder, "Tessai! You're already back!"
"Well, everybody was getting hungry, so we thought that we should be getting back to make some dinner." he explained the return as he was taking the bags of groceries from Ururu and Jinta.
Kisuke laughed, "Splendid!" Then his attentions turned to Mayuri who remained sitting and Nemu who was already by his side, "Mayu-chan and Nemu-san will join us, right?"
"Wrong." he replied too matter of factly, his gaze was on his braided girl companion, "Nemu already bought dinner."
Kisuke invited him, still eager for the company of his fellow scientist of days long past, "Why don't you eat with us?"
His eyes still on Nemu, he frowned and he asked with no tact at all, "In this dingy little place?"
There was an exclamation from Tessai who was in the kitchen. "Hey!" Sizzling sounds were already being heard.
"Aww… Mayu-chan, don't be so mean." He came close to Mayuri and Nemu, respectively looking at him with angry eyes and indifferent ones. "Tessai works hard on keeping this place nice and neat. Besides, you don't remember what the earlier labs of the twelfth division were like? Worse than my humble little shop - the lights were hardly adequate and no one from the fourth ever came to clean it up - and I never once heard a complaint from you."
He narrowed his eyes and said knowingly, "I'd rather eat in the Maggots Nest."
The exiled ex-shinigami captain breathed exasperatedly, a hand to his cheek as his head tilted to the left, "It's because I keep calling you Mayu-chan, isn't it." Then he smiled and offered, "Here, you can call me Kiss-Kiss while you're here if that'll make you feel better."
"No!"
So, what did you think?
Okay, I ended it there because I couldn't decide how to end it. From the omake I watched earlier of the new arc of Bleach, when it showed Kisuke discussing a plan on what to do about Inaba, Mayuri freaked because he wanted to make plans and saw no reason in following Kisuke. The omake ended with Kenpachi and Byakuya glaring at each other, Komamura howling like a dog, Mayuri and Kisuke arguing about what the plan should be, and Toshiro sitting quietly and annoyed to be the only sane one there.
So, what did you think?