Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach.
Wow, I don't even know where the word "Cut" came from.
Um... so this takes place within the first few months of Nemu's creation, after she has been established to be adult level intelligent and functional. Enjoy!
Prompt: Cut
Nemu could remember the earlier days when it was more obvious that her creator loved her.
He had taken the first few months since her 'birth' to show her off once he deemed her to be ready to interact with the others in the world. Before, all she remembered were grey rooms and steam, no windows, people dressed in white. He had told her over and over again that every inch of her was made by his own hands, no one else's, and so that meant to her that she was utterly his. She enjoyed the sound, rolling the word around in her mouth like a piece of candy, "Utterly."
Out of her features, he had seemed to favour her hair. He had made her hair long till it reached past her waist, ends cut perpendicularly in that the bangs stopped just over her brows and that the side-locks framed her face, reaching beyond her shoulder not yet to her breasts.
She had once seen a woodcut on one occasion in one of the Gotei 13 Captain's rooms that he had brought her to; it had been a woman wearing numerous robes, her hair grown long. Mayuri had mumbled into her hair when they were left alone that it was beautiful. She didn't know what he was referring to. When the certain Captain returned, he had long silver hair, Mayuri had distanced himself from her, yet praised her design. It didn't matter what anyone else said to her, how they called her pretty or cute; the words did not have the same depth as her father's. She wanted to hear it from him the most.
In the morning after putting on his own clothes and painting his face, he would come to her room and brush her long hair himself. She would sit in front of a mirror, already dressed(she knew how to dress herself after the first time he had showed her how), while he would bend over her: holding that long hair of hers and slowly pulling the brush through it. Every so often he would bury his nose in her hair and she could feel him inhale, she took the best care of her hair over her face or her hands because it seemed that he loved her hair.
One morning after she had put on her kimono; he entered the room, in his hands was a new dress that he had made for her. Despite the jumping and quickening of her heart at the sight of the new dress, she could only briefly smile, the weight of her cheeks feeling too heavy for her to smile as she saw others do. He smiled that wicked smile of his and told her that he would like her to wear this for today, that he wanted her to look her best when he would introduce her to the Soutaicho.
She didn't ask who that was, but nodded her head, "Yes, Mayuri-sama." and began undoing her obi belt.
She could remember his hands all over her, the palms full and fleshy, his fingers long. These were skilled hands, she had thought. He dressed her prettily, in some that he bought, most he had altered, occasionally that he made himself. He not only called her his daughter, he called her his doll, his puppet. Reader, the words did not make her feel that he was overstepping any boundaries with her; it was true to her since he had been the one who gave her life from nothingness, she was his to do whatever he wanted to and with her. In dressing her, he was quick, always making sure that whatever he gave her to wear was put on correctly. She would instinctively move and adjust her body to make it easy for him to fold, to wrap, to tie…
But the time was savoured on the brushing of her hair, the small comb would move like a knife through butter in her hair and he would brush it over and over again until his fingers could move with ease through it. His nail and fingers would scratch and graze over her scalp, down her neck, curving into her back. Wherever his tips touched, she felt the warmth of daylight, of life. How fortunate, she had thought often, that she should have a chance to be alive with him, only for him, by him. Though, unfortunately, hair brushing was rarely leisurely, often times, it felt like the hours were too quick for them.
He looked at the watch on the wall and declared that it was time they went on their way. Just as she was heading to the door, he told her to bring her zanpakuto with her. She did what he said and did not question him aloud. Luckily, he still explained to her, "I want the Soutaicho to see that you are already capable of wielding your zanpakuto. Not even a year and you can already solidify your reiryoku into a weapon."
Reader, Mayuri's pride was such that he could fashion an entirely artificial being who could produce its own zanpakuto, be recognized by said weapon to possess it, and use it effectively. Could that Urahara Kisuke have created an entirely new zanpakuto atuned to another specific being? And so, Reader, his daughter was his very pride in that he had surpassed Urahara Kisuke in the aspect of gikon modification. Now we return to the story.
As they went out, shinigami that she did not know approached her captain about a problem they did not know how to resolve. He sighed and asked them if it needed his immediate attention. They were crying and telling him that there could be blood if he didn't come sooner. She recognized the ambivalence in his eyes; a situation like that left two outcomes: paperwork to be recorded about it or more paperwork but new fresh corpses for experimenting and dissecting.
There was an explosion and a loud scream. The shinigami grabbed hold of Mayuri and tried to drag him to the spot of the explosion, "Taicho! Please come!" they all cried in unison.
He growled at them and turned to Nemu who stood at the entryway out of the barracks, "Nemu. I want you to wait here until I come back."
She nodded her head and gave a small bow to him, "Yes, Mayuri-sama."
Nemu hoped that he would come back soon, usually wherever he went, she was there. Perhaps he thought that she would only get in the way. Reader, I will tell you what Nemu didn't know. The reason why he left Nemu by herself when he told her that he would return is the same why God left Eve alone with the instructions to not eat the forbidden apple. He wanted to see if his creation was indeed loyal and possessed the free will to obey. That and he felt that he would not need her, some things are best done alone and he did not want her to ruin that dress he had made especially for her for the occasion of visiting the Soutaicho(he was a man that took pride in his work).
As Nemu stood in the same spot that Mayuri had left her, she noticed two shinigami coming towards her. One was quite tall that she had almost mistaken her for a man, with short silver hair. The second was obviously a captain by the white haori and she saw the distinct insignia of fourth division on it, a long braid was tied around her neck in front of her. The two women passed her and Nemu could not help but follow them with her gaze.
The Captain slowly turned around and smiled. "Hello there."
"Hello, Yonbantei-taicho." Nemu greeted with a bow as she stood where she was.
"Isn't she so sweet, Isane?" she asked her associate. Then something like realization washed over her face and the captain came closer to Nemu, her hand cupping her chin. "Ah, so you are the young woman that all the other captains are talking about nowadays. You are as they say." Her smile was so bright that Nemu wanted to smile as well. The captain held onto both of Nemu's arms, looking around as she asked, "Where is your captain: Kurotsuchi-taicho?"
"I do not know exactly, Yonbantei-taicho." she answered truthfully. He had gone to settle a dispute, but where?
The woman had a worried expression on her face and exclaimed as her hand half-heartedly covered her bottom lip. "Goodness, he shouldn't leave you alone like this. What if someone like those from the 11th division were to come across your way and hurt you?"
"Hurt me?" she asked. How could they hurt her? Mayuri's many simulations and tests had taught her well to fight with her body, to take blows, and to avoid them.
"Yes, they are quite a violent lot, but they do get the job done. Dear, would you like to have some tea with me? Please, I insist."
There was something in her gaze and smile that sent shivers up Nemu's spine, it warned her to obey whatever this woman said. Whatever Mayuri had in store for Nemu would only pale to what this woman could do when she was angry. But then, Mayuri had been taking her to see captains and she had yet to see this woman, perhaps Mayuri would be proud of her for taking some initiative.
"Yes, Yonbantai-taicho." Nemu said politely.
The woman ushered Nemu to walk with her and the other shinigami obviously called Isane. She linked arms with the two, the captain's long zanpakuto between Nemu and her, it hung on a shoulder strap like a purse. "Now, tell us everything about yourself, especially that nice green zanpakuto at your waist." she requested of Nemu.
After a little while, they arrived at the fourth division barracks which acted as a dual hospital for injured shinigami. They entered into Unohana's garden, Nemu was impressed but did not show her emotions.
"Aren't the flowers nice?" Unohana asked as she seated herself, setting her zanpakuto by her side. Nemu sat upon her knees, hers still at her waist, and her hair resting a foot on the floor. Isane appeared nervous, a large blush was painted across her cheeks(why?) "So, you are Kurotsuchi's daughter?" Unohana began, her voice was laced with curiosity.
Nemu nodded. "Yes, Yonbantai-taicho."
"My, you are so polite. Please, my name is Unohana Retsu." her head tipped forward slightly and Nemu kneeled forward, her head almost touching the ground.
"Yes, Unohana-taicho." Her hair spilled forward, the black sheen of it shining.
"Your hair is quite lovely, very long." she complimented. "Was it Kurotsuchi-taicho's design for it? Or perhaps it was that assistant of his, Akon-san, I believe his name is?"
"I am Mayuri-sama's design, Unohana-taicho." Nemu verified for the older woman. Something in the atmosphere changed.
Unohana turned to the shinigami and requested, "Would you get us some tea, Isane?"
The woman jumped up, "Yes, Unohana-taicho!" and stumbled out of the room as she rushed out.
The door closed. There was a silence between the two then Unohana spoke, "So, you call your captain by name." she questioned, a smile there along with tension.
"It was his request that I call him such, Unohana-taicho." Nemu informed her. She didn't know why the air suddenly felt so heavy as she did or that the woman across from her was sizing her up.
"I would've thought that you would call him father, at the very most." Unohana told her, there was something like animosity in her gentle tone. Nemu put her guard up against her, it was better to be safe than sorry with a presence such as this. The woman continued from before, "Your hair is quite beautiful, would you care to have it braided?"
"Braided?" Nemu asked, not sure if she heard correctly.
"Yes, like mine. I think that you would look nice in it." even though Nemu had not answered, the woman went behind Nemu and began separating the hair, preparing to braid it. There was the sound of cloth moving and hair swishing, the birds sang outside.
"So he has you call him by his first name?" Unohana asked again.
"Yes, Unohana-taicho."
"He does not let anybody call him by his first name, so formal he is with everyone, even the other captains. As soon as we say hello to him, he tells us to refrain from calling him by name." The woman stopped her braiding. Nemu was beginning to feel uneasy around this woman alone. Nemu saw her as friendly, she was friendly, but it felt like she had waltzed into the spider's parlour. This woman's spiritual pressure seeped slowly. Nemu would rather have another person in the room with her and she wondered where that shinigami Isane was.
"You must be special to him." Her fingers traced the sleeve of the black kimono. "Look, he even gave you a pretty kimono. You must be the envy of your division." The kimono was black, a pattern of lilies swirled about it. It stopped short over a ruffled skirt under it. She wore tabi and heels with it. He liked to have her wear kimono that gave her legs free space.
Unohana continued braiding the hair, "What does he call you?"
"Nemu, Unohana-taicho" she answered.
"Interesting name, it wouldn't happen to be short for 'silk tree', would it?"
"There is no meaning for my name." Nemu told her.
"Hm… odd of him to name you like that." she commented.
Nemu wanted to tell her that it was not odd for her father to name her as such. Often times when he spoke to her about her creation, he would tell her that her hair was the most painstaking to create; the darkness of those raven tresses, the sheer length of it when he could very well have made it short, and the touch of it. He loved to touch her hair, he called it silk. She thought that her name suited her; nothing, hence the no meaning, as she was born from nothing but she was an imitation, a copy. Not what she seemed. Kurotsuchi Nemu. Black Soil. Silk trees of black soil. She loved her name, particularly by the fact that he had chosen it for her. He very much could've called her Final Experiment #8, but he gave her a name: her own and his joined together.
Then Nemu felt something around her neck loosen, her hand reached up to the base of her neck, only to feel the red choker there moving.
Unohana told her sweetly as she removed it, tying it at the end of the braid, "I hope you don't mind, I thought I had some ribbon with me, but I was wrong. Oh! It's tied just like a noose!"
Nemu thanked her, but internally, she was distraught. Mayuri had given her that choker, it was his second gift to her.
Unohana led her to a mirror and complimented how prettier she looked with a braid. Nemu agreed, a braid suited her. Unohana added, "And it won't get in your way at all!"
Then, Isane walked in. "Isn't her hair lovely, Isane?" Unohana asked as she gestured to Nemu.
"Yes, it is! Um… are you sure you should be doing that for her? What if Kurotsuchi-taicho doesn't like it?" She asked as she set the tea down and began pouring it for the three of them. Her expression became one of fear and worry. Reader, Kotetsu Isane was a woman that was afraid of many things.
Unohana waved her hand, as though she was brushing the very thought away. "Nonsense, what man doesn't like a nice braid on a woman?"
Speak of the Devil and he will come. There was the sound of running and screaming outside the door. A shinigami opened the door. But the odd thing was that it was one from the 13th division, not the 4th. He was frantic and behind him were more shinigami running away. "Unohana-taicho! There's a problem! Kurotsuchi-taicho is coming here!"
"Oh, look, dear. He's probably here to come pick you up." she pointed out, a smile was on her face.
The shinigami must've assumed that she got the message wrong for this type of situation because he suddenly looked scared, waving his hands in front of him, and babbled, "No, Taicho! He looks angry! He's been rampaging through the streets, looking for-"
"Nemu!" a horrible voice interrupted. Kurotsuchi Mayuri was livid, standing in front of her, the aura around him burning like fire. She was not sure, but she could almost swear that she smelt the metallic tinge of blood on him and ash. Nemu was about to greet him, wanting to show him the braid that Unohana had done for her when Mayuri suddenly surprised her as she went to him.
He struck her. Reader, he struck her and the shock that he had shocked her rather than the pain itself was felt more acutely by the young girl.
He seethed at her, roaring, "You stupid girl! Is this where you've been the whole time?"
She bowed her head, "Forgive me, Mayuri-sama, I-"
He interrupted her, "I told you to fucking wait! That's simple enough to obey, isn't it? I told you to wait! Even a dog could understand and do just that!"
She winced, he had never been so harsh to her. She had always tried to be good and had always managed to accomplish that. Now she did not know what to do as she was the source of his rage.
"Do you know how long I've been looking for you? I go away for just a few minutes and you're gone! I had to ask that damned Kenpachi if he had seen you! No one had seen you! I circled around this damned place twice! And here you are, hiding away from me! We were supposed to meet the Soutaicho an hour ago! There is no chance that he would see us at this point! He is a busy man! I'm busy! Do you think that I don't have anything better to do? You wretch! I am being generous in giving you time, I could simply lock you away now, what more use could you have to me than proof that I am capable in creating a soul and zanpakuto, that my abilities for modication exceeds anyone else!"
Her fingers dug into her fists as she stood before him, without warning her vision blurred and her eyes stung. "My deepest apologies, Mayuri-sama."
He struck her again, she fell to her side. "Are you crying? What are you crying for? What can tears accomplish?"
She stood up again, "Forgive me, Mayuri-sama."
His hand drew back and Nemu braced herself for another one of his strikes, but it did not come. Before her, she saw the insignia of 4th division on white. It was Unohana. Unohana's voice was gentle, but she detected a sharpness to it, "Kurotsuchi-taicho, I cannot tolerate any more violence in my division."
Unohana looked back at her, an undistinguished expression was on her face. "Do not punish your daughter. The fault was mine, I thought that I would like to meet her and so I brought her with me to my division."
It was like a Mexican stand-off between the two captains: both refusing to stand down and both having enough powers respectfully to blow the Seireitei up. Mayuri hissed through his teeth, obviously trying to keep his temper in front of the 4th division captain. "Who gave you the right to take her away?"
Unohana did not smile, she was the very epitome of a lady of war; there was word that the only thing to fear beside the soutaicho's zanpakuto was Unohana's wrath. She stated clearly and calmly, enunciating her words. "I did not take her away, she was alone and I only offered her to let her come see my division. From what I understand, you have been taking her to see everyone except me."
He turned to Nemu, yelling, "Did you tell her that you were alone?"
"No, Mayuri-sama." Nemu answered truthfully. She never said that she was alone. His eyes narrowed at her and she imagined that her insides were burning from his gaze.
He spoke to her slowly like the way a predator would speak to his prey, or in a way a murderer would tease his victim. "Nemu! I want you to go back to the barracks. If you're not there by the time I come back, you are seriously going to regret it for the rest of the days."
She nodded, "Yes, Mayuri-sama." and headed for the door, carefully walking past to not touch him.
She heard Unohana warn Mayuri, "Kurotsuchi-taicho, I must tell you that it is not right to address anybody in such a way, especially here in my division."
There was a cackle from him. "How a father treats his daughter is none of your business, especially how punishments proceed under my roof."
Those words made her cold and Nemu feared what would happen when they met each other back home. Reader, there was possibly some fear to have as Nemu waited in her room for her father to return. But he did not come back until hours later. She imagined that he must've used that time to plot some sort of torture, perhaps he was deciding to kill her. Reader, it was settled at 9 pm that night when she heard word that he was in the barracks. Nemu had stayed in her room, contemplating on whether or not she should take off the dress he made for her and change into a shinigami uniform that had been left in her closet. She heard footsteps outside her door, the knob turned.
Mayuri came into her room. She sat still, not sure whether or not she should move.
He sat awkwardly to her; they were side by side, their backs facing in opposite directions, he leered at her. She noticed his golden eyes going to her throat. His long nail traced from her chin to the base, she had to control herself not to shiver. "Your choker. Nemu." he stated.
"Unohana-taicho used it to tie my hair. She said that she had no ribbon and hoped that I would not mind to let her use my choker to tie it." she filled in for him. He may not have been screaming anymore, but she knew he was angry, she could feel it.
His fingers walked from her neck over her shoulder to the hair that hung down her back. He touched her hair, entwined into a braid, "It looks nice this way."
She kept her head still, "Thank you, Mayuri-sama."
He got up from his seat and walked to the door, not looking back as he spoke to her, "I am your master, I know what should be done for you."
"Yes, Mayuri-sama."
"I put you together, I can easily take you apart and rebuild someone new who would know how to listen." She did not know how to answer, how to respond. "Nemu." he called to her, his back still facing her.
She was choking, but dared not to cry for fear that he would hit her, "I deeply apologize for my most insolent behavior today and I know I am in no position to ask you for anything, Mayuri-sama; but I beg you to allow me to stay with you."
There was an awkward silence between them. "I have no use for imbeciles but using them as grenades and lab rats." he said as he exited through the door and closed it behind him.
When she was sure that he was gone and would not be able to hear her, she bit her hand to stifle her cries and let the tears pour over her cheek. The shame of disappointing him was greater than the sting that still burned on her cheek. The wound of it dug into her stomach and tore up her insides, she wanted the pain to go away.
Reader, Nemu doesn't braid her hair to look nice for him, she does it to constantly remind herself that he is her master and he does not need her as she needs him.
I like to think that this fic kept him IC and yet showed how much he worried about her. Imagine: he comes back and she's gone. He thinks that perhaps she might be at 13th division because they've been there before, but she's not. Then he's worried that the thugs at 11th division might've taken her and are trying to take advantage of her. She's not there either and he's both pissed for having to ask Kenpachi if he's seen this young woman and worried that she isn't around. He goes around looking for her and he finds her with Unohana who he dislikes. But he's spent so long looking for her, he's worried and scared that something might've happened to her.
At this point, he's angry and tired when he finds her, instead of being glad that she's okay, his anger is still boiling and he directs it at her.
Um, if you have any ideas for prompts, please leave it in a review or send it in a PM.
Please review!