Chapter 1

Author's note: When I was twelve years old I wrote a story called "The Life and Times of Mary." It was a short story based around a young girl and her problems at school, and was the first full-length thing I had ever written. Anyways, I stumbled across it and re-read it. Granted the writing sucked and the story was bad, but I liked Mary. She was an embodiment of my younger self. So because I felt it would be a waste not to use her character again, I put her into this bleach fanfic.

It had hurt. She remembered that. If she was to die all over again she wouldn't have drowned, because it was probably the most painfully thing she'd ever done. Her whole body had panicked. She thrashed when her lungs burned with old air, and when the water had finally filled them, it was hell.

Rays of light, made Mary's sleeping eyes open unwillingly. It was morning and her second month of living in the 65th division of Rukongai. She'd learned two things in her short time here. One: do not attempt to cross the big wall into Two: do not trust anyone.

Yesterday, she had broken rule two. She had followed a young man when he'd said he could help her find a place to stay. Leading her down a side street, him and his friends had jumped her.

"What's wrong with your eyes, freak," one her tormentors yelled.

"Back off!" she had yelled as the four of them backed her into a wall. Her spike in rietsu made the boys take a step back, but unfortunately not run.

"Make us," chided the boy, grinning menacingly. He made to punch her, but she ducked and rammed her body into his stomach. They both hurtled to the ground. She pulled her arm back and punched him in the face, hearing his nose crunch underneath her fist.

She'd never been much of a fighter but necessity had pushed her to learn fast. Mary tried to side step as the boy tried to grab her, only to be caught by his friends and held.

"Little slut!" he yelled angrily and punching her gut. She felt the wind go out of her as he kept hitting her. The boys dropped her on the ground and took turns kicking her. One of the falls landed on her face, making her go cross-eyed. Eventually they had stopped and searched her. They found the money a woman had given her for sweeping out her teashop, and the small bag of candy she had bought earlier. She had passed out after that.

Now she woke up bruised and beaten with no money or food.

The injuries didn't bother her as much as the indignation of how she got them. She was different, and everyone could see it. Her hair was blonde and cut an inch short. Her skin was pale and obviously Caucasian. The biggest difference though was her eyes. They were round, surrounded by huge eyelashes, and one was brown while the other was blue-green. Even when she'd lived with her mom in the United States her eyes had gotten her funny looks. On top of all that Mary had learned that she could feel rietsu, and that hers was very high. Normal souls couldn't sense rietsu, but that didn't mean they weren't affected by it. She had to be careful not to let out too much or no one would come near her.

"You okay?" asked a kind voice. She opened her eyes a little wider to see two very prodigious breasts. Mary's eyes moved up to find a red-headed woman looking down a her with concern. The woman helped the girl into a sitting position, and Mary gasped slightly at the pain. Now that she was upright she noticed the woman's clothes and the badge that was on her arm. Her rietsu was high too.

"Thanks," Mary mumbled, wincing when she found even breathing hurt. "You're a shinigami lieutenant aren't you?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her brain tried to sum up a reason such a woman would have wandered down the alley to where she was. From what she understood, shinigami in Seirieti looked down upon those in Rukongai, especially those in the higher districts that were known for thievery and gangs.

"Yes. I'm surprised you know. My name's Masumoto," the woman answered. "What happened to you?"

"I got mugged," Mary explained. "Four guys jumped me. I got a few good punches in though. I think I broke one's nose." Mary smiled shyly, and winced as her cheek stung. She reached up and felt a long gash along her cheek bone. Great...that was going to scar and make her look like even more of a freak. Masumoto studied her for a moment as though trying to comprehend what the girl had just told her.

"Four guys jumped you! Did you do anything to provoke them?"

"I'm white," Mary explained as if that was all the provocation the boys should have needed. Her nationality had caused roadblocks even when she was alive in Japan. Why would it be any different after death?

Mary shrugged, and stopped realizing that hurt too. She coughed, making her body ache all over, and a small amount of blood escaped her lips. Masumoto eyes were wide with concern. In a swift movement she had picked up Mary in a cradle hold and started walking down the little street.

"Where are we going?" asked Mary.

"I'm taking you to get healed," she retorted, ignoring the civilians who stopped to stare at the shinigami holding the badly beaten girl.

"I'm fine," said Mary. She hated it when people fused over her, especially when she was hurt. "I can take care of myself." Masumoto looked down at her, surprised.

"You just spat up blood, you're covered in bruises, your rietsu is dropping, and you want me to believe your fine? You're lucky that I found you when I did." Masumoto waited for a response, but the girl in her arms had passed out.

Mary woke up in a warm bed, and for a second she wondered if she was alive again back in her own room. Her moment of comfort ended quickly when the pain caught up to her. Everyone square inch of her hurt. Wait, that wasn't right. Her right elbow and left big toe didn't hurt.

She attempted to sit up and a gentle hand pushed her back into the covers.

"Please don't move, your wounds are still healing," said a quiet voice. She moved her head to the left to see a young shinigami with short black hair and large blue eyes. A quick look around showed they were in a small all white room. A hospital then.

"What happened?" Mary asked.

"Lieutenant Masumoto brought you here severely injured. Your right ankle was sprained, your cheek cut, you had numerous bruises, and one of your ribs had broken and punctured your lung. You've been asleep under my supervision."

"And you are?"

"Yamada Hanatarou."

"Thanks Hanatarou-san. I'm Mary Nakamura. But why am I being taken care of by a shinigami. Shouldn't I be in a Rukongai clinic?"

"Your life was waning too fast. Masumoto fukutaicho feared that a normal clinic's resources wouldn't have been able to save you. She was probably right, but her actions have upset a few people here," explained Hanatarou. He smiled shyly, and the door opened behind him.

"You're awake!" Masumoto yelled in happiness. Behind her stood a sullen white haired boy. Mary's eyes widen when she saw the white captains uniform and felt his powerful rietsu. A captain of the Goeti 13 was paying her a visit!? She shrunk back into her covers as a shiver of fear wound up inside of her and her flight or fight response kicked in. She sat absolutely still, like a deer would when cornered by a wolf.

The spell was broken when Matsumoto flopped down to sit on the edge of the bed and block the view of the captain.

"Hi," said Mary uneasily. "Hanatarou-san has just been filling me in on what happened, and it seems I owe you my thanks. I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." She smiled weakly.

"Just some idiots that think Rukongai souls should look after their own kind. I was really worried about you. I even conned taicho to come," exclaimed the well-endowed woman. The boy behind her grumbled, "You just get better, so she'll stop running over here every two hours."

"Yes sir," Mary replied quickly, not wanting to upset him. The 13 captains had a reputation in the districts for being able to kill a person without even drawing their zanpaktou. The young captain seemed to sense her unease and he raised an eyebrow at her.

Matsumoto and Hanatarou spent the next five minutes asking Mary exactly what had happened in the fight. Did she live anywhere, or was there someone that would be worried about her?

"No. I've only been in Soul Society for two months. I've been living on the streets, getting change for doing odd jobs," Mary answered. The other three just looked at her.

"Nobody has offered you a place to stay?" asked Toshiro, "Usually, new souls find a place to live within the first few days." Mary shook her head.

"I have a higher rietsu, and if I'm not careful I frighten people off," explained Mary. The shinigami exchanged looks.

"You are aware of your heightened rietsu?" asked Toshiro.

"Yeah. I can feel rietsu. That's one of the ways I knew Masumoto was a lieutenant." Her uneasy grew as the other three continued to stare at her in surprise. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" Mary sat up, ignoring Hantarou's pleas to lie back down. The hurt in her chest made her gasp and bite her lower lip as the sharp pain ebbed into an ache.

"Your rietsu isn't just high. The night you were hurt, I was out drinking when I felt a spike of rietsu close to that of a fourth seated officer," explained Masumoto, "When I found you I expected to find an injured shinigami."

"So, what does that mean?" asked Mary, apprehensive of where this was going.

"It means that you might be capable of becoming a shinigami."

Mary eyes widened. "What? Really! But I'm a rouge soul. I didn't even get here through soul burial. I..." she stopped as the excitement caused another bout of pain.

"She needs to rest Masumoto fukotaicho, Hitsugaya taicho," Hanatarou said to the Captain and his subordinate, ushering them both out of the room.

"We'll talk later," said Masumoto, winking as she followed her captain out the door. Hanatarou helped Mary lay back down on the soft cot. He produced a little bell and set it on table beside her.

"When you wake up ring this bell, and I'll be in with some food later," instructed the healer. He went to leave when Mary reached out and caught his arm. She felt a wave of gratitude toward the young man's concern for her.

"Hey Hanatarou-san. Thanks," said Mary. Momentarily caught off guard, Hanatarou only nodded before shutting off the lights and leaving. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had bothered to thank him before.

Hanatarou tried for what felt like the millionth time, to make Mary sit still. It was only her third day in bed, and cabin fever had settled in.

"Mary-san please don't move," he begged.

"I'm sorry Hanatarou-san, but I'm bored. And you can drop the suffix. You've seen me half naked for christ's sake," said Mary, obviously trying to suppress the blush that was starting to grow on her cheeks. Hanatarou however let his burn freely. He had had to change her bandages around her breasts and torso several times when performing healing kido on her rib and lungs. In the process he'd caught glimpses of her nude upper half, which in his profession was nothing new albeit embarrassing for the patient.

"If you feel restless then I could get you something to do," offered Hanatarou. He withdrew from the room for a moment and returned with a pack of cards. "Isane-fukutaicho let me borrow these." He placed them on her bedside table. "Now I have other duties to perform. Will you be alright here by yourself?"

"Sure. Besides Matsumoto-san said she might bring some friends with her today." Mary shooed the little healer out of the room with her hand. As soon as she was sure he was gone, she slipped out of bed. Her whole torso screamed in pain, but she bit back the whine that wanted to escape her lips.

Mary gave the bed pan a disgusted look before going into the bathroom to relieve herself. After washing her hands, she looked up into the mirror and stuck her tongue out at her reflection. Her blue-gray eye was swollen and purple, and the gash below it had been healed, leaving a very very faint scar. Now her face matched her life.

Mary had been a teenage pregnancy given up to a woman who couldn't have children. Her mom's name was Deb, and at age 10 Mary had been told she was adopted. It made sense now that she thought about it. She didn't look like anyone else in the family, and Deb had never been with anyone long enough to have kids.

Then he came, the son-of-a-bitch that ruined everything.

A soft knock on the door disrupted her musing. "Mary? You in there?" It was Matsumoto. She sighed and opened the door. Matsumoto raised her eyes at Mary standing there.

"Are you sure you should be out of bed?"

"I'm fine," Mary lied as she crawled back under the covers. "I just don't want to use that." She motioned to the bedpan. That's when she noticed the two men standing in the door way.

"Oh, this is Ikkaku…" started Matsumoto gesturing to the bald man before she was cut off.

"And I am Yumichika Ayasegawa. So you are the infamous girl everyone's talking about," said the feminine man.

"I'm being talked about," Mary wondered, looking over at Matsumoto. The busty woman smiled deviously.

"Well. The women's society heard what I did for you. Soooooo I told them what you told me and Hitsugaya-taicho, but it was supposed to be a secret. I don't know how it could have…" Matsumoto stopped as a small vein started to throb on Mary's temple. Ikkaku and Yumichika exchanged knowing glances. They'd seen a certain taicho give Matsumoto that same look many times.

"Matsumoto-san, although I'm grateful for your help, I find it a little rude for you to be telling my personal life as gossip." Mary attempted to cross her arms, but found it painful and instead settled for a fierce glare. Ikkaku noticed the pain that crossed the girl's features and how she hid it. He smiled. She was obviously prideful, stubborn, and hated showing her current feebleness. He respected that.

"Oh look cards!" Matsumoto said trying to change the subject. "Lets play poker."

"But I'm horrible at poker and losing can be so ugly," grumbled Yumichika.

"You guys play black jack?" asked Mary evilly.

Ikkaku cocked and eyebrow. "Now that is my kind of game."

"Ooo! I'll deal," said Matsumoto, and started the first hand.

For some reason Ikkaku and Matsumoto lost the majority of the games and while Matsumoto continued to be her bubbly self, Ikkaku started to get competitive. Finally, Mary let out a long yawn that signaled their departure. Matsumoto set the card deck to the side. Ikkaku and Yumichika stood up from where they had been sitting on the edge of the bed. Mary yawned loudly again, wincing slightly as her rib complained at being jostled.

"Well we have to get going. See you Mary!" said the red-haired fukutaicho giving Mary a warm hug.

"Good bye Mary-san. I hope that ugly bruise heals quickly," said Yumichika, strutting out the door.

"I'll be back for a rematch kid," snorted Ikkaku, shutting the door behind them.

Mary lay in the now quiet room. She looked at the little bell that she could ring for food. Her stomach had the beginnings of hunger pains gnawing it. However, her eyelids were heavy and she quickly fell asleep.

Unohana taicho was the one to wake her. The motherly captain took her temperature, checked her pulse, and examined Hanatarou's handiwork.

"Everything looks fine. We should be able to discharge you sometime tomorrow," said the fourth division captain sweetly.

"So I will be going back to the 65th district." It wasn't a question but a statement of fact, and judging from her tone, Mary was not looking forward to being back out on the streets after spending four days in comfort and company.

"Actually, considering your current predicament in Rukongai, we hoped you might apply for the shinigami academy. Matsumoto-fukutaicho and Hitsugaya-taicho spoke with the soutaicho about you staying at the tenth division until the entry examine in a few weeks."

"Really?" Mary smiled, and practically jumped out of bed in her excitement. A warm yet stern gaze from Unohana though kept her firmly rooted in bed.

"We expect great things from you," the captain continued. "And in the future please be more careful. I'd hate to see you in here again so badly wounded."

The next afternoon Hanatarou brought in her clothes. The blood had been washed out of the jeans, green tank top, and purple sweater. Her old sneakers though had been trashed and she was given toed socks and sandals to wear. While her rib and lung was completely healed, her muscles felt tight when she shrugged on her sweater.

When Matsumoto came to pick her up, Mary bowed to Hanatarou causing the young healer to gap.

"Sorry I was such a pain in the butt patient Hanatarou-san. Thanks for everything. I owe ya one," said Mary to the medic, who was still trying to remember the last time anyone had bothered bowing to him. He finally managed bow back and stutter out, "It was my pleasure Mary-san."

"Let's go Mary! Hitsugaya-taicho will kill me if I'm gone too long," said Matsumoto grabbing Mary and pulling her onto the street. The trip was short, and Mary stayed quiet allowing Matsumoto talk as she marveled at the clean white walls of Serieti. It was so different from the handmade ramshackle homes of the 65th district and she felt jealous that the shinigami lived in such splender while the rest of the souls scramble outside the walls.

Matsumoto rambled on in Mary's silence as she told her all about her trip to the real world to see this human shinigami named Ichigo. In the process the talk turned to a girl named Orihime, which Matsumoto let slip had a crush on brash teenager.

Mary half listened to the busty woman's ramblings, not at all interested in the love lives of people she didn't even know. But she expected this sort of thing from Matsumoto, and decided she owed the woman enough to listen to her gossip. When they finally got to the tenth division, Mary let out a sigh of relief.

Hitsugaya sat behind his desk working when they entered. He glanced up, taking in Mary's clothes. He'd only seen her in a plain white robe at the fourth division and the modern attire in a world still living in 1930's Japan stood out like sore thumb.

"Hi taicho! I'm going to show Mary the surprise. You coming?" Matsumoto hugged him from behind, pushing her large bust into the back of his head.

"No, and besides it's your surprise not mine." The taicho pushed her away and continued on his paper work.

"A surprise?" Mary asked worriedly. Matsumoto grabbed her and dragged her down the hallway. She flung open one of the doors, revealing a plain bedroom with a small dresser and a twin bed. The surprise Matsumoto was talking about was a pile of clothes on the bed. To Mary's horror there was a lot of pink. She hated pink.

"Since you only have that one outfit to wear I thought I'd buy you some new ones. Isn't this so cute!" said the fukutaicho holding up a green shirt with frill along the collar.

"Yeah," Mary replied with a forced smile.

"You don't like it," she pouted.

"No, it's just…uh…" The orange haired woman looked down. "I don't just like it I love it!" Mary spurted out. To her relief Matsumoto perked up and smiled.

"Well I'll let you try everything on." She shut the door leaving Mary to gingerly pick through the clothes. She used a pocket knife she had to rip the unnecessary frill off several shirts, making them more to her liking. Mary changed and flopped onto the bed. Life was definitely going to get interesting from here on in.