The Lost Girl

By: Lena Sauran

Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep I do not, nor will I ever, own Bleach or the wonderful characters created by the almighty Tite Kubo. I appreciate him very much for allowing me to play with some of his people. Kaida does however belong to me, so pththth. Also, my first Bleach fanfic, so please review and be nice? signs off

Chapter 1: Change in the Rain

Rain was good for one thing, washing away blood. Dying was never easy. A whole life ended in the span of a heartbeat. Ended by the slash of a sword through tender flesh. One day perhaps it would make sense, but then, it left two children at the feet of samurai bent on destruction. It was the warring states era when the girl and boy lost their right to exist in the world of the living. The boy had died protecting the girl, as he had all of her life. Death separated them cruelly, but mercy was never something that came easily or without a price.

She hadn't crossed over right away. It was not easy for a soul to be lost. She was lost without her brother. Finally, after years of the girl wandering the rice fields where she had died, the girl came across a hollow. It wasn't particularly smart or powerful, but to a child, it was scary. It had taunted her, played with her emotions until she had finally gotten so angry, that she blacked out the next few moments of her spiritual existence. There was a pulse in her ears, like blood rushing when there was no blood left in her. There was survival instinct and power. She wasn't running away from this squid-faced freak.

"You will die, girl, your soul will be delicious…."

"I'm already dead, you sick freak!" she snapped, oh yes, she had always known it. She had known all along that she was dead. When you see your body lying face down in the mud and water of a rice patty, it made things rather crystal clear that you were dead and alone.

"Yet, such a strong spirit, if I didn't know better from that chain in your chest, I would say that you were a Shinigami." The hollow cackled, it's eyes widening slightly though at feeling a new spiritual pressure entering their little arena. It turned slightly; it never saw the burst of spiritual pressure that accompanied the girl's foot slamming into the mask, shattering it with devastating accuracy. She'd watched people over the years, she was not powerless. She was alone, but even her brother would never tell her that she was powerless. He'd always told her that she was more powerful then him and stronger because she knew how to care without restriction. She had the strongest heart in the world.

It started to rain as she skidded to a halt in front of a rather shocked looking man in a set of black robes. The man watched her with kind, yet surprised eyes. His hair dusted his shoulder and she didn't get up from her position, something in her told her that this man was more power then she could ever dream of attaining.

"Oi, a ghost fighting back against a Hollow and succeeding, what an interesting child you are." The man said with a small smile, "Tell me, what keeps you bound to this place?"

"I can not find my brother; I do not wish him to be alone like me, Sir."

Maybe this man was a prince or a king, or a knight. He was so much larger and more powerful then she had ever come across before. It was not something that she knew how to address. It wasn't something that they could train or know how to deal with. She didn't dare look up at the man after he'd started speaking to her. He forced her to look up though with a gentle hand on her hair, just above the awry ponytail that rested high on her head.

"Your brother is not here, little one, so it is time for you to search elsewhere for him. More of those creatures will come after you here and place all the living souls here in danger. You must pass on to the Soul Society as your brother no doubt already has. There you will find peace." The man explained, watching the girl.

The girl just nodded quietly and watched him for a long moment; his eyes were kind and understanding. He wasn't a threat to her and he wasn't lying to her. It was hard for someone to see her and it not be her brother coming back for her, but this man said that her brother would be where he would take her. She had to trust in that.

"It's raining…." She said, quietly, looking to the sky for a long moment, "It is always raining…."

The shinigami placed the halberd of his sword to her forehead and she felt a peace wash over her with the rain. The Shinigami had been a young Ukitake Juushiro. She remembered his kind words to her, but finding peace was not easy on the girl either, for she was as lost in Soul Society as she had been in the real world.

Five Years Later

"Kaida-chan!"

The girl turned when she heard her name and gave the dark-haired girl a smile. "Ohayo, Momo-chan!" she replied with a bright smile, "Are you home visiting Toushiro-san?"

Kaida had an arm full of vegetables, feeling that odd gnawing in her stomach that had long ago become familiar but not entirely understood. Perhaps it was just that nagging feeling in her gut that she would never find her brother.

"Yes, it is my day off and I have to tell Little Shiro about meeting a real live Captain!"

Kaida smiled at Momo's enthusiasm. Momo had joined the Shinigami Academy. It was a great honor. It had been a long time before she had settled in at Gran's home in Rukongai. The little old woman helped the lost ones find their way. Momo ruffled the younger girl's high ponytail before bouncing off to find her best friend.

"See you around, Kaida-chan!" Momo beamed over her shoulder.

Kaida gave her a little wave before looking down at the armload of vegetables with a small amount of disdain. It wasn't something she enjoyed and she heaved a small, off put sigh. She didn't know why Gran kept asking her to gather food type of things; it wasn't like she ate anything. Gran had her do it every day though, it was her chore. Kaida understood needing to contribute, but she didn't understand the purpose of the chose. The food always seemed to vanish too.

What Kaida didn't understand was that Gran hadn't come across her (or any of the children that were there) by accident. Gran was one of the oldest souls in Soul Society and she had come across many Shinigami in her time. They all needed guidance and she usually arranged for it, one way or another. The girl had been brought to her attention by Ukitake. He had told her that the girl had dispatched a hollow with very raw and untrained spiritual pressure. Gran had seen for herself that the girl had talent. Ukitake had asked her to look after the girl until the hunger started, but Kaida was a stubborn child.

Twenty Years Later

Decades of gathering fruits and vegetables had finally tempted the more grown Kaida to taste something. It had been an apple. It had been raining that day too. It was a rare day that it rained in the Rukongai. Yet even in Soul Society, there were seasons and times of change. Perhaps like Persephone, once the bite was taken, her life was changed forever. With that bite of apple, the nightmares began.

It was always the same; there was always a woman in the rain. It was the woman with eyes the color of steel and hair that was such a pale blonde that it was nearly white. She always wore a blue and teal kimono that was so beautiful that it almost hurt to look at it. She was always saying something and Kaida could never hear her over an odd roaring in her ears. Then it felt like she was ripped apart and woke up drenched.

She rubbed her face and sighed as she looked around. This time the blankets were soaked as well. Who was that woman? What was she saying? She pulled her knees up into her chest. She was feeling so alone. Momo was gone now, a seated officer in Squad 5 under Captain Aizen. Toushiro was gone and was the Seireitei's new young Captain of Squad 10. She never saw them anymore. Only Gran was there still, an ever-present influence, yet never interfering. Kaida didn't know what was going on. She finally shoved the unruly red hair out of her dark eyes. Retrieving a new blanket, Kaida wandered out into the night, looking at the stars. Even in the Soul Society, there were stars.

"What is wrong, Kaida-san?" she heard a soft voice ask.

She turned, wrapped up in her blanket, to see the diminutive figure of Gran watching her with those knowing eyes barely hidden by many wrinkles. Kaida looked at the ground after a moment, unsure of what to say or how to say it.

"If you want to fear, you have to listen with all that you are, young one."

When Kaida looked back up, the old woman was gone, leaving her words behind her. The girl pulled the blanket closer around her and turned to go back to her bed. It was never easy to hear in the rain.

2 Weeks Later

Another night on that rainy field, feeling the cold seeping into her bones. That woman stood there, yet she seemed to be the only thing in the scene that was not soaked to the bone. She always seemed too beautiful to be true, too perfect. It wasn't something that was easy to believe in, to believe it wasn't a dream. This was not safe, this was not home, no, this was hell. Maybe she deserved hell for as long as she had roamed the Earth as a spirit.

After so long and so much rain, Kaida was beginning to lose her patience and her sanity. "SPEAK UP, YOU STUPID WOMAN!" she screamed at the spirit, knowing she was supposed to listen, but it was never easy. The rain turned to a drizzle, only more miserable in the fact that it had failed to stop. The woman was then right there, those pale eyes and pale hair, a blade thrust deep into Kaida's belly and out of her back. Kaida coughed hard as the spirit leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"If you wish to command me, child, you must speak my name or you will die here."

It was a whisper in her mind. One that had slowly built to regular speech tone that she could hear. Ame-no-Mi-Kumari. The name had come to her in a rush, pouring over her like a typhoon, drenching her from head to toe. The power filled her spirit until she thought she would burst. It was a rush and a thrill. The kind of thrill that could inspire or terrify all at once. Her dark eyes closed for a moment as a weight formed in her palm. Then her other hand joined it's mate on the hilt and tugged the blade out of her mid-section and lifting it high over her head, power trailing down through her as the pain traveled up. There was nothing gained without pain, she knew that, nothing came for free.

"Pour, Ame-no-Mi-Kumari." She said, quietly, almost a whisper through the pain.

Dark eyes snapped open, her fingers wrapped firmly around the hilt of a zanpaktou that was far different then any she had seen before. It was the length and width of a broadsword, the hilt wrapped in blue ribbons with teal and blue ribbons dangling from the pommel. The room was decimated and soaked, like a maelstrom had ripped through it. She didn't know what to think for a moment. She had skipped from a simple sword straight to a Shikai. Water-based it seemed. It wasn't like she didn't know about what Shinigami were and the stages they went through. Toshiro and Momo had gone through it, granted Momo had been much more open with the information then Toshiro.

"Well done, young dragon." A voice whispered in her head before the sword changed in her hand. It grew smaller until it was a standard katana. Kaida's eyes widened as the doors of her room slid open to reveal three people standing there. Gran stood between Captain Ukitake Jyuushiro and Captain Kuchiki Byakuya. Kaida didn't realize that she was shaking.

"Oi then, quite the mess you've made here." Ukitake said with a small smile to the girl.

"Just like her brother." Byakuya murmured to himself, watching the girl.

"It seems that it is time for you to enter the Shinigami Academy, Abarai-kun." Ukitake said with a grin, glancing at his comrades there.

It was time for such a great honor? Why her? She didn't move from her spot there on the floor, the sword in her hand as the only measure of comfort as the clouds outside released the torrential downpour that always seemed to mark change in her life.

AN:

Japanese meanings:

Ame-no-Mi-Kumari – Goddess of Water

Ohayo- Good Morning

Kaida – Young Dragon

All Spirit Dialogue will be done in Italics, thanks. REVIEW PLEASE I LOVE THEM! Even flames, tell me if I suck please, tell me if you want more!