Prologue: Kōmori Yoruhiko
"Tired of dull ages, I walk the same ground,
collecting the tragedies still
Hollow ambitions in a hollow mind
carried my cross to the hill"
Moonshield — In Flames
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…
…It's cold. So cold…
…It's raining…
Am I dead…?
…It doesn't hurt… anymore…
"Are you all right?" Who's talking? Do I know them? Who are you…?
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District Eighty, 'Kurosawa', West Rukongai. It rained almost constantly in this part of Soul Society but that's the way Chiyume liked it. She liked the rain; it kept the world alive and made hiding so easy. She spent a lot of time hiding away in her cave in the base of Shinigami Yama or Death Mountain. She hid from bandits and thugs and the many ruffians of various descriptions that plagued the outer Districts like hers.
Chiyume had high Reiatsu and was therefore a target for the occasional Hollow that attacked the outer Districts. She'd developed a defence system though and put it in place around her home. It also had the wonderful side effect of keeping away human intruders. Chiyume wasn't a very social person to put it lightly. She chose to spend as much time as possible away from other people. That was why she chose to live in Shinigami Yama. Shinigami Yama was the unbelievably tall mountain that resided in the middle of Kuro-Ichigo Mori or Blackberry Forest. No-one dared venture very far into Kuro-Ichigo Mori for fear of going anywhere near Shinigami Yama. There was a legend to the mountain – it was said that on the mountaintop the first Shinigami was born. It was said that he lived there for many years, honing his skills to perfection, before he came down the mountain and began to teach other Konpaku what he had learnt. Chiyume was ready to believe that much of the legend was true – the mountain emanated purer Reiatsu than any she'd ever felt elsewhere – but she was pretty certain the part about the mountain cursing anyone who tried to climb it was utter nonsense. She'd lived there for years and the closest thing to a curse she'd ever seen was when a drunk Shinigami tried to climb the mountain, walked straight into her traps, and was blasted halfway back to the Seireitei. But that was no magic, it was her. Of course, the drunk Shinigami's stories about the incident served her well as it prevented any other idiots from attempting the virtually impossible climb. Chiyume had tried climbing the mountain herself but had given up halfway up because she reached a place that only a Shinigami could cross.
Chiyume's life was a simple one and she'd managed to keep it that way for ages. On one especially stormy evening her life would become a not-so-simple one.
Chiyume was walking back from Junrinan, the First District of West Rukongai, where she'd been shopping today. Being one of the few people brave or foolhardy enough to go in Kuro-Ichigo Mori, Chiyume had access to a special resource that was paid for well in the richer Districts and in the Seireitei itself. Kurosawa Sakura's or Black Swamp Cherries. They may not sound so appealing but in reality, not only did they taste good, but they held rejuvenating properties and could be used to cure or heal ailments and injuries. Chiyume could simply hand over one Kurosawa Sakura and be given a month's worth of water or bread or clothes or whatever she wanted.
She left Junrinan sometime in the mid-afternoon and was just reaching her district at nightfall. She'd made exceptionally good time but that could be accredited to her unnatural speed. She smiled as she stopped for a brief rest before entering her forest. She was happy to be home.
There wasn't an actual path into the deeper parts of Kuro-Ichigo Mori because no sane man would ever brave the swamps. The outskirts of the forest were normal and relatively dry but the further in you went the darker and damper the world became until you were wending your way through a foot of mud, trying not to trip over tree-roots. There was very little high, relatively dry ground in the forest so you had to know your way through the marshes well and Chiyume knew them better than anyone. She loved the feel of the smooth mud between her toes as she squelched through the swamps but knew not to get distracted and stray from the path. Over tree-roots and across shallower marshes she walked. She soon reached a fork in her path. To the right was a path shorter in distance and to her left was a path ten minutes longer but significantly more scenic. Thunder rumbled overhead and Chiyume decided to take the left path.
She soon reached a small hill, one of the few aforementioned high and wet-yet-not-swamp pieces of land in the forest. Climbing the hill was easy, even though she had her shopping in her hands and the grass was soaked. Chiyume reached the top in time to see something she'd never forget.
A flash of white lightning and the loudest crack of thunder she'd ever heard ripped the sky apart and a boy appeared on the grass on the hilltop. He was naked, pale, and had the strangest teal lines on his face. They descended from his eyes, making it appear as if he was always crying. He was slender yet fairly muscular, and of average height (169cm to be precise – Chiyume had an eye for accurate measurement). His overall appearance was fairly melancholic. He had fairly short, messy black hair and part of his fringe fell between his eyes. His skin was pale white, and his upper lip was, for whatever reason, entirely black. He had distinctly thick eyebrows that currently formed a little frown above his closed eyes. Chiyume was a little surprised by his sudden appearance but quickly gathered her wits and walked over to him.
The rain fell steadily onto his body and Chiyume knew from personal experience that if he didn't get inside soon he'd probably catch pneumonia and die. Chiyume debated what to do for a minute before she sighed in defeat. What could she do other than take him home with her? He was just lucky she came by this way or else who knows what might've happened to him, poor soul.
Chiyume leaned over him, getting a better look at his face. He was really rather handsome, in a sad, lonely, way.
"Are you all right?" She asked as gently as possible. He seemed to hear her fine because he stirred. His clenched and unclenched his fingers, clutching briefly at the grass. He shifted his body ever so slightly as though he was testing whether he could. And, finally, he opened his eyes. His eyelids retreated slowly, revealing his stunningly green eyes. His eyes were as strange as the rest of him, they had small slit-shaped pupils similar to a cat's and as he stared intently up at Chiyume she became caught in his gaze. She couldn't think, let alone move. She just looked down into his eyes as he looked up into hers, then he shifted his eyes focus to survey his surroundings and the spell he'd unknowingly cast on Chiyume was lifted. She took a step away from him, more than a little scared of herself. She had never been out of control, she lived by her rules and never let anyone command her or tell her what to do, but this boy had done it without even meaning to! She didn't blame him but herself and she mentally kicked herself over and over as the boy tilted his head to the right to look at her again.
Chiyume figured he'd just arrived in Soul Society from some other world so she asked, "Rough trip, huh?" as she avoided his eyes. But avoiding his eyes meant she looked elsewhere and began blushing like an idiot. She lived in Kurosawa for Gods' sake; stuff like this shouldn't bother her!
His brows furrowed further at this question and Chiyume heaved a sigh. "Can you stand?" He looked down at his feet and pushed himself up onto his elbows. "Yeah," Chiyume encouraged, "that's the way. You can do it." He pushed himself into a seated position then bent his legs one at a time to support himself. He pushed forwards, trying for the whole thing, but propelled himself too far forward and Chiyume had to dart around front and catch him. She slid her hands around so she held his upper back and laughed a little at his upset expression. He looked annoyed with himself that he couldn't stand. His eyes narrowed and his lips pressed together in a tight line. He shifted his weight about until he found a way that his legs would support him then he placed his hands on Chiyume's shoulders and straightened his back. He pushed away from her lightly, stood for one triumphant moment, then wobbled and had to be caught again. Chiyume stood to his right side this time, one arm wrapped around his back, her other hand on his chest above his heart. She could feel its steady beat beneath her fingers.
He shivered and Chiyume sighed again, figuring he was cold. He was bound to be, after all, he was butt-naked. "Can you sit for a moment, please?" Chiyume asked and lowered him to the ground. He sat there and watched her curiously as she took off her mid-shin-length black kimono. Underneath she wore a short-sleeved white shirt and plain white underwear. Chiyume held out her black kimono to the boy. "Can you put this on for me?" He looked from it to her a few times then accepted the kimono and did the reverse of what Chiyume had just done. But when it came to tying the string that held it together he was stuck as he obviously didn't know how to tie a knot. So Chiyume knelt down in the grass next to him and tied the string for him. He watched her hands as they moved and when she finished and was about to move her hands away from his body, he placed his right hand over hers. Chiyume looked up at him surprised. His mouth opened slightly like he wanted to say something but then he closed it again as he realised he didn't know what to say or how to say it.
Chiyume smiled kindly at him making him look a little taken aback. "Do you want to come with me?" He nodded slowly once and Chiyume helped him up. She supported him from his side again. They were just about to head down the hill when she remembered her bags. She ducked down, the boy holding onto her back as she did, grabbed her bags and straightened again. "Could you-" She started to ask the boy if he would hold her bags while they walked but he took them from her hands before she could finish. "Oh, ah, thank you?" She shook her head to clear it. "Thank you." She shifted her weight and his and together they began to walk slowly and carefully down the hillside.
It took Chiyume much longer than she'd anticipated to reach her cave and by the time they were there she was soaked to the bone. The boy was fine, it seemed like the weather could not or would not bother him. He was wet as well but the black kimono was thicker than Chiyume's undergarments so he was virtually dry compared to her.
"We're home," she chorused quietly. He gave her a funny look than peered around the area, looking for her home. "It's back here." Chiyume rested him against a tree and stepped up to the mountainside. She stuck her hand in a bush covered in small, black berries, Kurosawa Sakura's, and a circle of mountainside shimmered and disappeared. The boy's eyes widened in surprise and he shuffled forwards, finally finding his somewhat wobbly feet after their long walk. Chiyume took his hand and guided him inside. When they were in, the boy turned around, expecting the rock to reappear. But he could still see outside.
Chiyume saw what he was looking for and explained, "You can't see in from outside but you can see outside from in." He nodded slowly and turned around to face her. He looked around the cave, taking in the bookshelves lined with books of varying degrees of wreckage, the futon on the floor in the back, the buckets and boxes against one side of the room, then settled down to staring intently into Chiyume's eyes.
She took the bags from him and put them with the buckets and boxes. He followed her like a shadow as she moved about her home. She picked up sheets and laid them on the futon then fluffed up the pillow. He watched her from a few feet away and when she turned around to talk to him she could swear she saw the very faint ghost of a smile on his lips. "You should rest," Chiyume patted the pillow lightly and the boy sat down on the bed. Chiyume pushed on his shoulders, laying him down and pulling the covers over him. She stood and went over to her bags were she pulled out a loaf of bread, two green apples and large bottle of green tea. She handed him an apple which he stared at, looking thoroughly bewildered.
Chiyume pressed her apple against her lips, breathing in its wonderful scent. She took a bite, her eyes closing as she relished in the bitter-sweet taste. She heard a crunch and opened her eyes to see he had taken a bite as well. His eyes lit up and he quickly bit into the apple again and again until he'd eaten it all. Chiyume laughed and popped the lid off the bottle and handed it to him. He attempted to bite the top and his face fell as he realised he could not eat it. Chiyume took the bottle back and took a quick drink to demonstrate how to do so then handed it back. He immediately tried what she had done and sucked down half the bottle in one. He gagged and Chiyume whacked him on his chest. "I forgot you don't know not to drink lying down. Sorry, um…" Chiyume thought hard for a second and decided that, yes, this boy definitely had not spoken a word and, yes, he had not given her a name to call him other than 'boy'.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." Chiyume held out her hand and cleared her throat, "My name is Chiyume. What's yours?"
The boy looked down at the bottle sadly. He opened and closed his lips a few times, making tiny, sad, squeaks of noises. "E… Shi… Chi… Chi… Chi…yu…" This was when Chiyume realised he was trying his hardest to say her name.
"That's right," she encouraged. "Chi - Yu - Me."
"Chi…yu…me…" He said slowly, looking up at her, eyes wide. "Chiyume!"
"That's it, you got it," Chiyume patted his shoulder in congratulation. "I'm Chiyume. Who are you?"
This made him look sad again. "Chiyume…"
"Yes?" Chiyume prompted.
"I…" He swallowed and shook his head. "I…"
"You don't have a name?" Chiyume asked gently. He nodded solemnly.
"I… don't… have… a… name…" He enunciated each word perfectly.
"You sure catch on quick," Chiyume complimented him softly. "So you don't have a name and you don't know Japanese…" She trailed off as a thought occurred to her. It wasn't uncommon for Konpaku to not have a clue as to who they were. Perhaps Chiyume's boy was like that. "Can you remember anything?" He shook his head. He seemed to understand Japanese well enough so he was just having trouble speaking right now. It was probably the shock of being. It happens, Chiyume reasoned. For some reason she had thought this boy perfect. She could have thrown herself off the mountain for that.
"Please…" Chiyume snapped back to reality at the boy's quiet plead. "I… want to be… someone… Please… name me…" Chiyume was dumbfounded by his request. She looked down at him, trying to gauge whether he was making fun of her or something but he looked one-hundred percent sincere. His beautiful emerald eyes were wide and sad, he looked so lost and lonely.
"Okay," Chiyume agreed immediately and discovered she was weak for his puppy-dog eyes. Truth be told, she was just weak for his eyes. "I'll give you a name…" She stopped, having hit an obstacle. She had never named anything let alone anyone. What was she to do? She couldn't give him a bad name; he'd be stuck with her mistake for life! "Um… um…" She stalled, looking around desperately for an answer. She looked down at the boy eventually, she couldn't avoid him forever, and seeing him gave her all the inspiration she needed.
"From this day forth you will be known as – pause for dramatic effect – Kōmori Yoruhiko!" Chiyume declared happily. The boy blinked his large eyes at her and remained silent for what seemed like years to Chiyume as she waited for his response.
"How do I… spell… it?" He asked abruptly. His face was still emotionless but the way he spoke seemed to be more confident now he had some certainty about himself.
"Like this," Chiyume took down an old book with a burgundy cover from the nearest shelf. She grabbed a pencil from the jar of mismatched writing utensils on the same shelf and, taking her time to ensure accuracy, she wrote '蝙蝠 夜彦' inside its front cover. The boy studied the writing intently and copied it out a few times himself for practice. His hands shook at first as he held the pencil but he soon got the hang of it.
"What does… my name… mean?" He asked once he was certain he could remember the Kanji.
Chiyume smiled a tad stiffly at this. She was a little nervous he wouldn't like it. And after all that effort to learn the Kanji… Well, it's his fault if he doesn't like it, Chiyume reasoned. He should have asked that first.
"Kōmori means 'Bat' and Yoruhiko means 'Prince of the Night'," Chiyume explained swiftly.
He looked a little amused at this, the very edges of his mouth twitching as he threatened to smile. "Why?"
"Why what?" Chiyume asked, confused by his obvious amusement. The name she picked wasn't really that funny, was it?
"Why Kōmori? Why Yoruhiko?" He asked simply.
"Well," Chiyume didn't particularly wish to explain her reasons, and she felt she'd done plenty for the boy, so she decided she wouldn't answer. At least not tonight. "It just suits you," she supplied weakly.
But the boy didn't mind because he finally, completely smiled. "Thank you, Chiyume. I am Kōmori Yoruhiko." He rested his head on his pillow contently. Chiyume watched him as he drifted to sleep. She was just about to get up and busy herself when she realised that he did, in fact, like the name she'd given him. It was hard for a loner like Chiyume to believe but she had actually made contact with an outsider. She might have even made a friend.
With this in mind, Chiyume stayed sitting next to Yoruhiko. She too was soon adrift on the sea of dreams. She unconsciously curled up next to Yoruhiko on the small futon and he turned onto his side to make room for her. They slept through the night that way, two strangers lying together on a rugged futon in a cave. Their circumstances were both sad but in this peaceful moment they felt truly happy, content as they were to have found someone to be with them.
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Pale light shone behind Yoruhiko's eyelids, waking him up from his dreams. He pried his tired eyes open and forced his weary body to sit up. He was in a small cave in a mountainside resting on a small futon with a woman he barely knew. Chiyume was asleep next to him still. Yoruhiko watched her carefully as her face changed to suit her dreams. She had such strange blue eyes he felt a little empty seeing them closed. Chiyume's eyes were pale blue, a sort of clear ice that pierced whatever they looked at.
Yoruhiko gently brushed a stray strand of her long dark hair away from her face. He stilled his hand over her cheek, marvelling in the difference between their skin colour. His skin was a harsh white while hers was a soft cream. It wasn't that the tones of their skins were so far apart, it was that she seemed so pure while he seemed so deathly.
Chiyume stirred, her cheek rubbing against his palm. He pulled away abruptly, suddenly afraid to touch her. Who was he to be here, leeching off her kindness? Scratch that; who was he? He had a name now but that wasn't much. He didn't know anything about himself or his past and not knowing annoyed him. But it also worried him. If he had been a bad person did he truly deserve to stay here? More than that, did Chiyume deserve his company? So long as he didn't know who he was, he would be a danger, a liability. And if that was the case, he would not inflict it on Chiyume. She had shown him great kindness and he had nothing to repay her with expect his absence. If he wasn't here he couldn't be a bother.
He contented himself to watch his rescuer for a few minutes before he roughly got to his feet. He did try his best not to disturb the sleeping girl but he was still unsteady on his feet and it took him a while to reach the cave mouth. He looked back at Chiyume's silent and sleeping form and wished he could stay, just to say goodbye. He knew very little about himself, about Chiyume, or about emotions, but even he could sense that staying would be a bad idea. If he stayed any longer he might never leave. So he would leave now and save the both of them some trouble.
He was just about to leave forever when his stomach rumbled. He felt a wave of fatigue and hunger sweep over him and he knew he needed to eat something and fast. So Yoruhiko staggered over to the bags where Chiyume had gotten their food from yesterday. He tried to shift through them and find something he knew he could digest but he had no idea what he was looking for. In the end, he simply took the two bags. He'd taken out anything he recognised as not food or drink but for the most part her shopping was food.
Yoruhiko stepped outside the cave and immediately willed himself not to turn around. How easy it would be to go back inside and rely on Chiyume… His life could be so simple… But he would not be a cause of hindrance in Chiyume's life. He did allow himself one backwards glance but only when he was quite a way away. He could not see into the cave any longer but he knew Chiyume would be waking up soon and he found himself hoping she would wonder where he was. He also hoped she'd forgive him for taking her food. But she was so kind he figured he was safe.
Kōmori Yoruhiko… He was a new man with a new life. He only hoped he could be a good person so he may one day come back and visit the girl who'd taken him in.
He missed her already.
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Chiyume stood on the hill where Yoruhiko had appeared. She was looking up through the clearing in the treetops at the sky. Today was one of the few days it didn't rain in Kurosawa. It happened on this day every year for certain. Today was Chiyume's birthday. Or rather, the day she'd turned up in Soul Society.
Today was the start of a new month, a new year, and a new life. It had been over a year now since Yoruhiko had disappeared and Chiyume still could not find it in herself to forget him. She wondered how he was doing and hoped he was okay, wherever he was. She owed him one; if he hadn't come she doubted she'd have ever enlisted in the Shinigami Academy, as it was known in Rukongai. The Spiritual Arts Academy, or Shinō Academy, was where Konpaku of all rankings trained to become Shinigami and serve the Thirteen Division Imperial Guards or Gotei 13.
Chiyume didn't hate the Shinigami like many other slum dwellers. She respected them. And now she would be one of them. Chiyume was leaving and she wouldn't come back here for a while. She had her belongings packed and was ready to go but she stopped to spare one last glance at the hill.
"Thank you, Yoruhiko."
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Ulquiorra: ...What did you do to me?
UberBleachFan: Nothing, Ul-chan. I just brought out your cute side.
Chiyume enters
Chiyume: What are you two talking about?
Ulquiorra: I was instructing the writer on how to write properly.
Katsuki: Uh, no, you weren't.
Chiyume: Ignoring those two. Thank you for reading Katsuki's new BLEACH fanfic. It's about Ulquiorra and takes place after his death in Hueco Mundo.
Ulquiorra: ...As you can see, I am not dead.
Chiyume: Yes you are, you're a ghost.
Katsuki: You know, you're both technically ghosts.
Chiyume: Whatever. So I'm copyright to Katsuki as is everything in this story that isn't obviously copyright to Tite Kubo, the awesome guy who came up with BLEACH.
Ulquiorra: ...I'm leaving.
Chiyume: What? Why?
Ulquiorra: Once you start complimenting people, I leave.
Chiyume: Aw, come on, Ul-chan, you know you love me.
Ulquiorra exits
Katsuki: No! Come back here, Ul-chan! There's no story without you!
Katsuki exits
Chiyume: Thank you for reading. If you liked this please leave a comment or review and we all sincerely hope you continue reading. Bye bye.
