Malum Renovamen
Something strange is happening again meaning that Ichigo must once again team up with Linnette. There may be more to this than any of them realized when it's discovered that Veneno is back. Please R&R
Bleach and its characters belong to Tite Kubo. This is just a fanfiction written for fun. I make no profit on this. The only characters I own are my original fan-made characters: Linnette, Victor, Cedric and Veneno.
Now on to the fun ^-^
Chapter 1:
Like most of the Seireitei, the edges of the training grounds were lined with plants and trees and lush green grass. Ferns with leaves the size of a human hand and flowers reflecting primary colors displayed the native nature of this other world known only to Soul Reapers. Such sights may be seen as exotic to some, but not to those who lived here and saw this everyday. This was normal. Most of the plant life were things which could be found anywhere in Japan. It provided a sense of peace for those who lived in the white buildings overlooking the gardens and courtyards.
Not everyone was so lucky to see such things, however. The constant experimentation and usage of dangerous, if not toxic chemicals had killed what little plant life there was around the Department of Research and Development. Which was perfectly fine for those who preferred to spend their time deep underground in the many labs and offices. Many of them weren't used to stepping out into sunlight and spent most of their time indoors working. For some, this was their own choice. For others, no more than a job which they had no say in. Some wanted to smell the fresh air and see light which wasn't artificial. But the high demands of the lab prevented this, forcing them to work inside, cut off from all sunlight in windowless labs.
On a day like this, however, working in a dark lab was a welcoming idea. Despite it being spring, it was unusually humid. With humidity as high as it was, the shade from any tree was a source of cool relief. But that didn't save them from the heat for very long. Soul Reapers had work to do, even when they weren't fighting with an enemy or battling Hollows. There was paper work to be done and errands to run. They couldn't spend their time under a tree for any longer than a few short minutes. Demanding higher-ups kept calling them away to work. Even the training grounds were unusually quiet, many Soul Reapers finding it too hot to exert themselves anymore than necessary.
Luckily, a cool laboratory was the perfect place to work on a day like this. Which was exactly where Akon heading. He walked from the 12th Division, carrying a box of tools his captain need to the underground lab. He passed by several sweaty Soul Reapers without a word.
It had been several months since the massive attack on the Seireitei by a certain Arrancar. He had somehow managed to clone himself and spread a virus throughout the Soul Society and some of the World of the Living, transforming people into Hollows. The transformation was slow and painful, causing the victims to become very hostile and attack anyone who wasn't infected, thus, infecting them as well. They called these victims Hollow Reapers. The virus spread so much that only a small handful of people managed to escape undamaged. The numbers weren't exact, but there were less than one hundred survivors for certain, many of whom escaped into the sewers. The issue was only resolved after Ichigo Kurosaki somehow managed to kill the original Arrancar. He didn't escape injury in the battle and the only reason he managed to win at all was because he had help from so many different people. One of those people happened to be a girl named Linnette. She was a human who was constantly accompanied by two men who weren't exactly human. Akon was never told who or what these men were, only that they were more powerful than any Soul Reaper in the Soul Society and could move buildings with their bare hands. Nothing seemed to be a match for them. Which was why many Soul Reapers wished to stay on their good side, happy to have them as allies.
Not much had happened after things settled down. Life returned to normal. And normality had its own abnormalities in Squad 12's case. Mayuri had been working on something ever since that day which he refused to tell anyone about. It was an experiment, several months in the making and it was nearing completion.
Akon was sworn to secrecy. Since his Captain was so busy with many new assignments he received from the Head Captain and many others, he hardly had any time at all to work on this experiment, which was why he ordered Akon to assist him. He had to vow never to reveal any of this to anyone. He wasn't allowed to breathe a word of it to anyone outside of the lab, even to the Captain himself. He agreed. Not that he had much of a choice.
Once inside the lab, Akon gave a sigh of relief, the dark room feeling wonderful on his hot back and shoulders. He was so glad to be out of the hot sun. He hoped this heat wave would be over soon. Spring should never be this humid. He set the box in his arms down on a metal cart and wheeled it into the spacious laboratory his Captain was currently working in. Akon never understood why his Captain changed labs so frequently. The remodeling reasons he understood, but that was finished months ago. He spent most of his time in his large personal lab, which happened to be his favorite to work in, but this wasn't it. This was his second lab which was very close to his preferred one. Akon assumed it was because he didn't want anyone to find out about this secret experiment. Using his own lab wasn't secret enough and he couldn't risk using any of the other labs, knowing full well that many people came in and out of them everyday. This was possibly the most secure one he had.
"Akon!" he could hear his Captain yelling from across the room. "Akon!"
"Yes, sir." He wheeled the cart over to Mayuri. He was wearing a large baggy lab coat, one hand wrapped in a glove. He had several tools at his side on a steel table. Nemu was at his other side, waiting.
"Did you get what I sent you for?"
"Yes, sir. Right here." He opened the box and showed him what was inside.
"Ah. Good boy." He peered inside and grabbed a tool from the bottom. He pulled out what looked like a metal pike, knocking several tools onto the floor and turned back to the table. "Pick those up, will you?"
Akon bent down and picked up the fallen tools without a word. It wasn't that re was afraid of his Captain, nor did he respect him. He could never put his feelings into words on how he felt about this man. He was indifferent most of the time. But at times like this, it was easy to describe how he felt towards him: annoyed.
So the work day began. For the next several hours, Akon spent his time doing whatever his Captain asked of him, keeping his complaints to himself for the most part. His Captain was unusually giddy this afternoon. It must have meant that the experiment was nearing completion. He kept looking at a large tank they had set in the middle of the room, hidden behind many empty ones and large machines. Akon was currently injecting different colored fluids into the tank via tubes. There was a white tarp cast over the tank, which remained there for the past three weeks. Akon was never sure if he was permitted to look inside or not, so he didn't.
"Akon, come here!" Mayuri demanded. He wasn't a very patient man. Akon climbed down from the latter he was sitting on and went over to him. "This is nearly finished…" he was saying, his back turned to Akon. He kept tinkering with the objects on the table. "I need you to do something for me."
"Yes?"
Mayuri waved Nemu over. She grabbed the tarp and pulled it down. Now Akon could see what, or rather who, was in the tank.
The moss-colored water tinted the natural color of whatever was in the tank. A man was floating inside, curled in a fetal position hooked up to a dozen wires. Most of the wires were attached to his back in several areas, two were attached to each temple and the largest wire was hooked up to his mouth. It was actually a tube more than it was a wire. Akon couldn't tell if it was there to help him breathe, eat or something else. Akon moved closer to the tank to get a better look at the man inside. He wasn't moving, but his hair was, very slowly. From the perfect angle, Akon could clearly make out the fragment of his Hollow mask on his forehead.
This was Veneno. The Arrancar responsible for all the mayhem that occurred several months ago. There he was.
Akon turned to his Captain. He knew all along what Mayuri was doing but couldn't say a word. He questioned why in the world he would want to bring back the man who caused so many people so much pain and suffering. All Mayuri would say on the subject was that he wanted to see if he could.
Mayuri never explained further than that. He never told Akon just what this was. Was the man inside a clone of Veneno? Was it a cross between Mod Soul and Gigai technology, much like Nemu herself? Or was this indeed the real Veneno brought back to life? Mayuri wouldn't say.
"I want you to watch him and tell me when you see him breathe. With any luck, we'll finish tonight."
Akon looked back at the tank. The man inside didn't move. Akon had no idea how long this would take, but this wasn't how he pictured his evening.
Hours passed and nothing came of it. The Veneno inside did nothing.
Mayuri spent his time moving things around, typing on the computer near the tank, tapping on the glass of the tank itself, touching the wires hooked up to the tank, injecting more things into the body and into the water. Akon never said a word. He let Mayuri do whatever he wanted. Akon had no way of knowing what time it was or if he was too late to get dinner. Staring at a tank was such a bore. There were worse things, he imagined.
Tiny bubbles escaped from Veneno's nose. Akon stood up and moved towards the tank. He watched, waiting. More bubbles appeared from Veneno's mouth and nose. "Captain, I think he's breathing."
Mayuri dropped everything and came rushing over. He pressed his face against the glass. When he saw the bubbles for himself, he gave a cheer and called for Nemu. "Open it! Open the tank! Hurry, girl! Hurry!"
Nemu moved behind one of the machines hooked up to the tank and started pressing buttons. The wires attached to Veneno's body were pulled out and retracted. The liquid started to drain. Before the green water was gone, the glass tank began to drop. Akon jumped back at the floor became soaked in slimy water. He looked back to see Veneno sliding onto the floor in a pool of goop. He didn't move.
Not caring about the mess on the floor, Mayuri walked forward and stood over the naked body. He looked him over and waited. Nothing happened. Mayuri waited anxiously. He started to wonder what went wrong the longer he waited.
Akon peered over at the body. Was the experiment a failure? All those months a complete waste? It certainly seemed to be a waste of time.
Then Veneno twitched.
Mayuri gasped happily and bent down. Veneno slowly lifted his left arm, a long trail of slime leading to the puddle on the floor. Slowly, very slowly, Veneno lifted his head. Mayuri reached forward with his gloved hand and wiped the slime off Veneno's mouth, nose and eyes. He held Veneno's head in his hands, staring at his goopy face. He looked like he was asleep. He was breathing, but his eyes were not open.
Then his eyes opened. Mayuri looked into Veneno's green eyes, open mouthed. Veneno looked back at him after a moment. His eyes were glazed, not focusing on anything.
Akon moved a little closer. The tense moments turned into minutes. Finally Veneno was able to sit up without Mayuri's help and could move on his own. He kept his gaze down with a blank expression on his face. He didn't seem to be fully aware of where he was or what was going on.
"Veneno." Mayuri started calling his name, trying to get a reaction. He didn't respond. "Veneno." He blinked, never looking up. "Veneno."
This time he looked at the speaker.
"Excellent." Mayuri smiled and called him again. "Veneno."
He stared at Mayuri. Then he started to move his limbs. He looked down. Veneno lifted his hand up, holding it in front of his face and curled his fingers and stretching them out again. He was like an infant learning how his body functioned. He noticed the trail of slime between his fingers and rubbed them together, feeling the goop. Then he lowered his hand again.
"Veneno."
He looked up, hearing his name. Or did he look up at the sound, not understanding that it was his name at all? Veneno lowered his head after a moment and shivered. He felt cold. It was all the slime sticking to his body and being met with the cold air for the first time.
Mayuri called Nemu over. "Get me a towel or something, anything. Put it over him right now."
Nemu came back with the tarp and laid it over his naked body, covering him. Veneno blinked, reacting to the new sensation. Mayuri reached forward and took a corner of the tarp and used it to clean off Veneno's face. He ruffled his brown hair, drying it. Then he stepped back, looking him over again. Veneno looked up at him without any expression at all.
"Can you stand?" he asked.
Veneno did nothing.
"Do you understand me?"
Again, he did nothing.
He wanted to test it. "Nemu, Akon, stand him up. Right now. Move."
The two stepped forward. Akon groaned as his shoes landed in the green goop. This would be a pain to clean. He slid around on the slime as he grabbed under Veneno's left arm while Nemu took the right and lifted him up. Veneno didn't seem to know how to stand, keeping his legs limp. After three tries he seemed to figure out what they wanted from him and straightened his legs, standing up. He wasn't able to remain standing on his own so the two had to help support him.
Mayuri began the tests. He shined a light in Veneno's eyes and inside his mouth and nose and ears. He took Veneno's pulse and his vital signs. He ordered Nemu to take notes for him. Nemu left Akon to support Veneno on his own and retrieved a clipboard. She began to jot down notes.
After a few more minutes, Veneno seemed to be able to stand on his own, leaning against the now empty tank. Akon slowly relaxed his grip and let Veneno stand on his own.
Veneno stared blankly around the room as if in a daze. Then he heard a new noise and turned his head. Nemu was taking notes still. He could hear the pen scratching against the paper. He looked at the object moving around in her hand and stared at it curiously. Mayuri took notice of this and told Nemu to stop writing for a moment. "Do you know what this is?" Veneno didn't say anything. "This is a pen. Do you know what a pen is?"
He just stared.
Mayuri took the clipboard from Nemu and the pen, taking it over to Veneno. He held out the clipboard and handed him the pen. He didn't move. Mayuri took the pen and moved it across the paper, making different letters. "See? Now you try." He handed Veneno the pen. He reached for it but wasn't able to figure out how to hold it. "Like this. Do you see?" He showed Veneno what to do.
This time Veneno managed to take hold of the pen on his own and held it in his closed fist. He made a line across the paper and then another. Veneno stared at the marking he created in awe. Mayuri took the pen and clipboard back, muttering how remarkable this was to himself.
Akon stood nearby, watching. Veneno managed to remain standing on his own but it soon became clear that he couldn't do much else. He couldn't even walk.
"Nemu, clean him off. And fetch him something to wear."
"Yes, sir." Nemu had to physically carry Veneno over to where he needed to be and cleaned him up. She brought him a researcher's uniform and dressed him while Veneno simply sat there and let her do what she wanted. The uniform was of course temporary. The lab coat didn't even cover his legs. Nemu brought him back once the task was completed and stood him in front of Mayuri.
"Let's get him onto the table," he told her. Together, they lifted him up and sat him down on the table. Veneno didn't do anything but stare off into space. Mayuri picked up a tool from the cart Akon had wheeled into the room and turned back to Veneno. After several observations, Mayuri nodded his head and moved away from the subject. "It would seem that his mind is still developing. He seems to have no sense of where he is or what's happening. It's like having an infant around. He has to be shown everything. This man can't even talk."
Veneno looked down at his legs with a vacant expression. Everything seemed new to him. Even his own body.
Mayuri looked from Veneno to the pile of work he had near the door. He growled in frustration. "There's no way I can make proper observations with all this work piling up. The Head Captain must think I have nothing to do at all. He keeps giving me things to do…" He looked over his shoulder and then at Veneno. "Well, I suppose Akon could baby-sit him for a while, while I work on a few things."
Akon's head spun around. "I heard my name and 'baby-sit'. What's going on?"
"You…" Mayuri pointed at him with his middle finger and a toothy smile. "… are going to look after him while I tend to other matters. I can't fall behind in my work. Besides, if I'm gone too often with him and not doing my other duties, Yamamoto will get suspicious. Which means that you'll be handling things in my stead. Got it?"
Akon frowned. "Why don't you have the Lieutenant do it? She's your right hand."
"Which is why I'll need her to assist me with my other duties. This is up to you. You're the only other person who knows anything about this and you're also my Third Seat. You have little say in the matter. As your Captain, I order you to look after him. Got that?"
This sounded like a real hassle, but the Captain's request couldn't be turned down. He had to do it. Akon turned his head, looking at the man sitting absentmindedly on the table without a word. Seeing as how he couldn't walk or speak, this may not be too much of a hassle.
"Great!" Mayuri clapped his hands together. "Now, let's find a place to stash him for the evening. And remember, not a word to anyone about this."
"Yeah, yeah. I got it. No problem."
"See that there isn't."
More to come soon!
Please review! ^-^
