Author's Note: This is based off of LJ's 20truths, and centered around my OC, Fuyutsuki Chinatsu. It does contain MC/OC, in the form of Ikkaku/Chinatsu (though they never actually interact romantically within this story--it's implied they like each other). I try to keep the Bleach 'verse with Chinatsu in it as part of a seperate canon, because I don't like my characters interfering with the actual story. Because of this, I'd appreciate it if you read it with the idea of a seperate (but not actually "AU") canon in mind.
This story is OC-centric, so if you don't like it, please don't read it. Flames aren't appreciated. Also, you can read more about Chinatsu and her friend Eiri (not actually mentioned in this story) at my profile.
Enjoy! :D

A Thousand Summers

Twenty Truths about Fuyutsuki Chinatsu

1. Chinatsu remembers very little of her life before she joined the Soul Reaper Academy. She had a surrogate sister, mother, and female cousin. There were no male influences in her life. The women she knew were as girly and gentle as could be. (Why, then, did she love the feel of a sword's hilt in her hand…even back then?)

2. The Chinatsu that entered the Academy was not the same girl as the Chinatsu that left. When she entered, she was unsure of herself, deferred to everyone, and stayed in the shadows as much as possible. Her violet hair was long and flowing, her face delicate and feminine, her hands soft and slender. When she left, she was loud, brash and confident, talked back to anyone that annoyed her, and was never content unless she was right in the middle of the action. Her hair had been hacked short, she sported multiple ear piercings as well as a nose ring, and her hands were calloused from wielding the practice sword.

No one who was in her year knows what caused this change, although a few may venture to suggest that it had something to do with the bald Gotei 13 member who visited the Academy in her fifth year.

3. None of her teachers knew how she passed their classes. She was asleep for most of their lectures, only waking up every once in a while if the lesson was interesting. A few of them had a nagging suspicion that she had crammed the night before exams, but no one knew where she got the notes from. Kira Izuru does: after she beat him up the first time, he quite amicably handed his notes over when she asked (demanded) them from him.

4. The only class Chinatsu ever paid attention in was combat training. There were, however, mixed results in each form. Her hakuda was well enough, and her lower-body based fighting style seemed very reminiscent of Soi Fong-taichou's. Her hoho started off poorly, but she improved after a while, and a lot of individual practice. Her kidou was altogether quite horrible, but Chinatsu never seemed to care about that. To this day, she cannot use even the simplest spell. But, what every teacher agrees, was that her zanjutsu was terrifyingly powerful. The first time she was set to spar against another student, Chinatsu had the poor girl crying and clutching her broken shinai in one hand, and holding her other, also broken, arm against her chest--within five minutes. No one saw the blow.

5. Chinatsu still trains with her Zanpakuto every day. No matter how strong she becomes, she still seems to be far behind everyone she cares about.

6. When Chinatsu graduated the Academy, she was immediately placed in 11th Division. Those who knew her from the Academy were of two different opinions. Those who knew her only a little thought what a misfortunate fate she had been handed: any girl in 11th Division would be eaten alive. Those who knew her well only laughed when told the news, and said just one thing. "How perfect for her."

7. When Chinatsu herself heard the news, she ran a celebratory lap around the Seireitei, all the while chanting "I made 11th! I made 11th!" at the top of her lungs. This put to rest any debate about her fortune or misfortune. Until the first time she went out drinking with her new division, that is. (The difference is, in the latter instance, the fate in question was not hers, but the rest of Soul Society's.)

8. Chinatsu was ranked Seat 17 upon entering her new Division. This seemed to anger her more than anything. A lot of new Soul Reapers would be happy just to rank. But to Chinatsu, simply ranking wasn't enough. No, Chinatsu had to rank well.

Since then, she has risen to 4th Seat. She was quite proud of this accomplishment, until it was hinted none-too-subtly by Yumichika that she would definitely be holding 5th Seat if he didn't hate the kanji for "four." She has never forgiven him.

9. Chinatsu's Zanpakuto first appeared to her the night after her first defeat in a training match at the Academy. She had nearly beaten the other girl, too--until her long hair had flown in front of her face, masking the other girl's strike. The next thing she knew, the match was over, and the assembled crowd of girls were cheering like they never cheered for her. Though she wouldn't admit it, that was what hurt her the most.

That night, after she had silently cried herself to sleep, she first beheld the form of her Zanpakuto, in a dream. She was enamored of the man who came to her dream-self. His hair was brown; to his shoulders, and it matched his beard. He wore black and brown robes, and had a kind face. In that dream, he told her both words of comfort and encouragement. That he was the form of her strength; that she was not weak, but strong, and would grow stronger. And that she would not be alone forever.

When she awoke, she forgot most of what he had told her. But the feeling of strength and comfort remained. After that night, she was not surprised that Chigirimaru's release command was "Stand tall."

That day, she cut her hair short.

10. Chinatsu has never been in love. She has, however, crushed on guys before. The first guy she ever liked was three years above her in the Academy. He was skilled in combat, high in the class ranking, and was well-liked, as well as being popular with girls. His name was Aoyagi Ken. She never told him she liked him, and he never even knew she existed. She didn't see him again after he graduated. She learned, years later, that he had been killed on his first mission. That night, she shed only one tear. She knows there's a lesson she should take from this, but for the life for her, she doesn't know what it is.

11. Her second crush was on Zaraki-taichou. The day she and the rest of the new recruits were supposed to meet their Taichou and Fukutaichou, he showed up forty minutes late. To be more exact, he crashed through a window, covered in blood and mud, holding a naked Zanpakuto, and grinning in a way that she swore made the guy beside her piss himself right there. It was a good thing that her new Taichou was distracted by Yumichika's (who had been stalling the group) yelling, or he would have certainly noticed that the tomboy in the front row was blushing and grinning like a schoolgirl.

12. Her third, and latest, crush is on Madarame Ikkaku. She doesn't seem to realize it, though. Still, between the frequent sparring matches and the nights spent drinking with the division, there are moments when he catches her eyes and she feels something warm and fragile shift within her.

13. Her actual relationship to Madarame Ikkaku is quite strange. When they first met, he was a bit of a jerk to her, adding to the insult by mistaking her for a boy. She spent the next few months figuring out how to get back at the asshole, until she got her chance one mission.

He had shown up late, and the rest of the guys had split to go chase after some hot chick. Right about then, the Hollows (plural; there were three of the bastards) showed up, and before Ikkaku could do anything about them, Chinatsu had dispatched all three. Then, she punched him in the face. They've been inseparable ever since.

Theirs was not a normal relationship. But, it wasn't unhealthy. Just different. They were almost always together. He encouraged her to try new things; she admonished him when he was too over the top. They chatted and hung out, exchanged banter, and threw insults at each other maybe a bit more than normal. Chinatsu had a fondness for smacking him in the head, and he loved to tease her about her appearance. They fought together, laughed together, got drunk and trained each other to the ground.

And somewhere along the way, he fell in love with her.

He doesn't know how it happened, and Chinatsu hasn't noticed, but there has been more than one time, when they go out for a private drink and she's sitting beside him, cheeks flushed from sake and happiness and grinning like a fool, that he wished he could kiss her.

He still doesn't know why he hasn't. Maybe if she were a little bit prettier, or gentler, he would have taken the chance when it presented itself to him. But she's not, and it's this, more than anything else, that makes him want it to be right.

14. Because of her appearance, Chinatsu has often been mistaken for a boy. Sure, her hair was as short as a guy's, and her breasts were pretty small, (and her shihakusho sure as hell didn't help anything) and her voice was a little harsher than most girls'…but still, she was one hundred percent female.

Still, it must be noted that anyone who met her after the Academy thought she was a pretty-boy at first. The only exception was Matsumoto Rangiku, who neither mistook her for a boy, nor judged her because of the fact that she looked like one. Chinatsu is still thankful to her to this day, and Rangiku is the only one Chinatsu will show her weak side to.

15. Chinatsu is close friends with Abarai Renji. They met at the Academy, and were placed in 11th Division together. She was glad that there was someone she knew with her in her strange new home; more glad than she ever let on about.

She didn't know his reasons for transferring to 6th. But the day he left, she came by his quarters, and told him that though she would miss him, she knew he had his reasons, and would support anything he did. They still train together sometimes. That is, until the Ryoka showed up, and Renji suddenly became much, much stronger than her.

She doesn't know why, but when she learned he had achieved Bankai, Chinatsu suddenly felt terribly, terribly alone.

16. Though most of her friends are thugs from 11th Division (or ex-thugs from 11th Division) Chinatsu's best friend is Hinamori Momo. The two met at the Academy, and have been inseparable ever since.

When Momo was accepted into 5th Division, Chinatsu did not feel sad. Instead, she felt as happy as she ever had. She knew how much her friend admired 5th Division's Taichou, Aizen Sousuke. When she heard the news that Momo had risen to Fukutaichou, Chinatsu had prayed silently for her friend's happiness. She knew that Momo had fallen in love with Aizen-taichou, and Chinatsu thought that if anyone deserved something that special, it was Momo.

When Aizen betrayed Soul Society, all Chinatsu could remember was the image of Aizen-taichou, putting his warm hand on Momo's head and telling her everything would be okay. There are times when the new reality doesn't seem real--as if it is a bad dream that she will wake up from soon enough.

The scary thing is, when she sees Momo now, 5th's Fukutaichou looks like she's dreaming even more than Chinatsu…only for her, it's a dream from which she cannot awaken.

17. Chinatsu has many people she looks up to in Soul Society. Zaraki-taichou is always number one. In her mind, he cannot be defeated. It does not matter that he does not know his Zanpakuto's name…in fact, it makes her feel like there's hope for herself: if someone who cannot even release their Zanpakuto can be so strong and fearless, then maybe she will be strong one day, too. (But what she won't admit is that she tries to not to remember that he won't, not can't, ask his Zanpakuto its name. When she does, the feeling of hope disappears, and is replaced by a cold, clammy doubt.)

Chinatsu also looks up to Soi Fong. Being the only female Taichou that engages in combat, and having a fighting style that is not only deadly, but graceful and beautiful, has given Chinatsu more than enough reason to admire her. To this day, she has not said a word to the woman she admires so much. This is because, when they do meet, Chinatsu wants to make a good impression.

The sad thing is, Chinatsu has always thought she was unable to do this the way she is now.

18. Chinatsu has many people she dislikes in Soul Society. At the top of the list is Ichimaru Gin. No matter what other people have said in his defense, every time she sees him, she can only recall one thing: the first time she saw him.

She was still in the Academy, at one of the combat classes. Two Taichou had looked in on the class: Unohana Retsu and Ichimaru Gin. One of the other girls was very bad at sword-fighting, and kept losing. In the end, the girl just sat down, head in her hands, looking depressed and discouraged, and Ichimaru-taichou had come over, presumably to comfort her. He had knelt down next to her, and whispered something to her. Chinatsu couldn't hear what he said, but the next thing she knew, the girl began sobbing uncontrollably, and Ichimaru Gin was walking away, smiling. She has hated him ever since.

19. Chinatsu does not even think of starting a relationship right now. Though she knows love is important, Soul Society is in the middle of a war.

Still, there are times when she looks at Ikkaku, and wonders what it would be like for once, instead of going out drinking, and end up barfing in Izuru's hair while he cheers her on and orders more sake, to sit across from him at a nice restaurant, wearing a real dress and heels, and gaze softly into his eyes.

These are just dreams, of course, because she would not look good in a real dress and heels, and Ikkaku would never enjoy just sitting (sober) at any restaurant, let alone a nice one.

She does not know how wrong she is.

20. Though she had graduated from the Academy with the highest honors in combat training, Chinatsu has become one of the weakest members of her circle of friends. Both Renji and Ikkaku have achieved Bankai. Momo and Rangiku are Fukutaichou. All Chinatsu has is an unperfected Shikai and a seat that should not rightfully be hers.

Being not only an 11th Divisioner, but one of the few female 11th Divisioners, Chinatsu has learned not to show weakness. She is as rowdy, loud, crude, and shameless as the rest of them; she goes out drinking all the time (scarring at least one innocent bystander and leveling at least some part of Soul Society every time she does); and has the same fondness for beating on 4th Divisioners as the rest of them.

But though she doesn't let on about it, each day she feels like she's falling a little farther behind her friends…and that soon, she'll be left all alone.

More than anything, more than Hollows or Arrancar or death, Chinatsu is afraid of being alone.

((by: PS))