Disclaimer:
I don't own the rights to anything related to the Japanime Bleach
The rights to that Japanime belong to…other people…
Note: This is linked (somewhat) to the story "Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer"
Of course that was her name, how could he have forgotten? Why didn't he remember it before? Maybe it had something to do with him? Was he messing with Hanataro's mind?
"Don't blame this on me, HanataBro," a familiar voice sighed, laughing soon afterwards, "You're the one screwing your own mind up!"
He shook his head, quieting the voice, and took in a deep breath. He wondered why he'd been dreaming about the Lieutenant in the first place, at least about why he dreamed about her the way he did. Out of all the people to appear in his dreams (well, his combat centric dreams) she was the only one he interacted with to the extent he did.
"Why?"
Maybe, he thought, it was because of her rather mysterious nature. He admitted that he'd never met her, at least not under favorable circumstances; he mostly just caught glimpses of her traveling the Seireitei, quietly trailing behind her Captain and father.
His mind, along with the rumors he'd heard about her, filled in the blanks that made up her personality.
He assumed that melancholy look and quiet nature of hers was a façade of sorts that she kept up in front of her father, shedding it for a happier persona when she knew he wasn't around. If she did it when he was, there would be hell to pay. Her father didn't like it when she tried to break out of his grasp and be happy for a change, Hanataro assumed from the rumors.
Such behavior was unacceptable and irritated her father to no ends. So what did he do to satisfy his anger?
Hanataro frowned as he gave into the horrid rumors of beatings the poor lieutenant had suffered, an image of those beautiful dark green eyes of hers welling up with tears that she painfully held back out of fear of angering her father even more forming in his mind.
He now officially hated Captain Kurotsuchi…then again, those were just rumors…
Weren't they?
An unmanly yelp escaped the boy when his alarm clock went off; telling him it was time to get ready for work.
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12th Squad Headquarters, Captain Kurotsuchi's Lab
Nemu was worried, something that was rather foreign to her. She shifted slightly as she continued staring at her father from afar, her legs growing unusually tired from inactivity.
He'd been here all night, but that wasn't what worried her. He always had a tendency to stay here in order to complete his latest invention or get started on a new one, but this was different.
First of all, he didn't keep her with him; instead he sent her home. The stranger part was the fact that he sent her home three hours before any lieutenant was scheduled to be off work.
Second of all, he was reading this book titled: "How to be a Better Person." At first, Nemu believed it was a sort of philosophical book, one that was aimed at sophisticated minds in order to expand them by making them wonder what exactly made a 'better' person or if a 'better' person was impossible to categorize.
She was wrong and, almost, horrified to find that, upon closer inspection, it was a children's book; pictures, colors, and relatively crude drawings in all. Worst of all, he had been reading it when she had left and was still reading it now!
It wasn't even that long, maybe a little over 100 pages (which is reasonable, considering that the book is a collection of stories), and he was still reading it? That's over 13 hours of reading the same, low level intellect aimed, thing!
She'd seen him go through a Harry Potter book faster than that!
Why was he reading such material in the first place, instead of something of higher value like the Seireitei Communication? It didn't make sense. Maybe he was sick?
That must be it, there's no other reasonable explanation.
"Perhaps I should perform tests in order to determine Father's current health level," Nemu thought, nodding to herself. She cringed slightly as she slowly moved her halfway asleep legs, and tiptoed closer to the oblivious Captain.
"Hmmmm…I don't understand…oh, I get it," Captain Kurotsuchi mumbled to himself, using his free hand to rub his chin thoughtfully. Nemu had stopped her approach while he did this, immediately resuming it after he was done.
Her father wasn't as violent or mean to her as people believed he was, but he did get frustrated with her, especially when she snuck up on him like she was doing. Digging through her pockets, Nemu produced an empty syringe for drawing the Captain's blood, as she was close enough to strike now.
Captain Kurotsuchi paused for a moment, letting out a small 'Hmmm?', and stared up at the giant computer screen before him; a series of complex calculations and a growing red bar with 'Analysis _% Complete' gracing it.
"Nemu, what are you doing," he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her reflection in the computer's screen, "And what are you holding?"
"I'm trying to draw your blood and plan on using the syringe in my hand to do so," Nemu replied in her usual monotone. Captain Kurotsuchi slowly spun his chair around to stare at his daughter.
She stared back at him, her dark green eyes showing a strange level of determination.
"Whhhyyyy," he slowly asked, scratching his chin.
"Your current behavior is inconsistent with your usual behavior; therefore I came to the conclusion that you must be sick. In order to confirm or refute that claim I need a sample of your blood to test for any abnormal bacteria or viruses."
The Captain proudly smirked at his daughter. Her analytical skills had vastly improved since the day he had created her and it was moments like this that made him proud to be an inventor and Nemu's father, of course.
His smirk immediately disappeared when she lunged at him with the syringe. He quickly avoided her, nearly tripping over one of his unfinished inventions in the process.
"What are you doing you stup-I mean…" Kurotsuchi paused for a moment before clearing his throat, dusting himself off, and regaining his composure, "There's nothing wrong with me. In fact, I feel perfectly fine! Now…ahhhh, it's finally done…"
Nemu's eyes followed the man as he sat back down at his computer and began to type something into its keyboard. A series of beeps and 'shzzzzz' could be heard as the computer's printer produced several pieces of paper, each too far away for Nemu to read.
She quietly followed after Kurotsuchi as he went over to the printer, watching as he examined the papers it had spat out. He hummed for awhile, occasionally nodding to himself and frowning, before stapling the papers together and handing them to Nemu.
"Please take these to Captain Unohana, and try not to lose them."
Nemu stared at him suspiciously. He never said please, at least not to her.
He stared at her in return, fighting the urge to tell her to leave, and crossed his arms, tapping his feet until she decided to leave on her own.
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Nemu cradled the papers close to her chest, somewhat afraid that some inconvenient wind would come and take them away. It was an irrational fear, but it never hurts to be safe.
As time went on, she began to wonder what was written on these mysterious papers and why Captain Unohana needed them. "Would Father be upset with me for looking at them," Nemu wondered as she stared at the papers, her innate curiosity slowly taking over.
She looked around, finding that no one was in the area, and casually pulled the papers from her chest to her eyes before quickly reading them. It was about the strange apple Captain Kurotsuchi had received a few days ago.
She raised an eyebrow at some of the charts and pictures in the document, finding her sense of curiosity heighten. The last page of the packet consisted of a picture of a familiar looking Soul Reaper along with a request for a sample of his blood and a copy of his medical history.
"Hanataro Yamada," Nemu mumbled out loud as she tried to remember where she had seen him before. She examined the picture, hoping it would help refresh her memory.
It did.
Those soft blue eyes, timid looks, and short black-bluish hair belonged to the accused 'pervert' she had met while traveling the Seireitei by herself (doing something for her father, but she couldn't remember what at the moment).
As she walked down a relatively empty street, she heard a high pitched squeal and the sounds of various footsteps in the distance. Her curiosity piqued, Nemu turned and looked in the direction the sounds were coming from, spotting a group of men running after that young 'pervert.'
"P-please leave me alone," the 'pervert' begged his pursuers, his legs weakening. The men merely laughed at the boy, jeering and threatening him as they continued their chase.
"What did he do," Nemu wondered, showing little concern over the fact that the boy would eventually collide with her.
The other men stopped in their tracks when he finally did collide with her, though, it was more like he tripped into her chest. A long, awkward silence ensued as the men watched Hanataro nervously lift his head to stare into the eyes of the woman he had fallen into.
"A-ah! I'm so sorry, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," he stammered, bashfully pulling away and giving the woman an apologetic bow.
"Wow, what a pervert that little freak is, eh guys," one of the Soul Reapers laughed, nudging his buddies, "Trying to feel up Captain Kurotsuchi's daughter is an instant death warrant. Let's just leave Hana here to his fate."
The other Soul Reapers left soon afterwards, leaving a trembling Hanataro at Nemu's mercy. He gave her another apologetic bow, begging her to forgive him. He trembled even more, taking a step back as she approached him with a curious look in her eyes.
He closed his eyes tightly when she reached for his throat, reluctantly opening them when he felt her hand brush against his forehead. She had simply brushed back a stray strand of his hair.
"Apology accepted," Nemu monotonously replied, walking past Hanataro. When he turned to watch her leave she was already gone.
Nemu wondered why she chose such a theatrical exit in the first place as she entered the 4th Squad Headquarters.
But right now that didn't matter. She had other matters to attend to.
------------------------------
"I hope Ms. Seta doesn't come along to find me slacking off," Hanataro sighed as he leaned against his broom, staring down the hallway he had just swept with satisfaction and worry.
No matter what he did, or how well he did it, someone would always come along and tell him that he messed something up or that he should stop slacking off and get back to work.
It was a lose-lose situation, something he was used to by now.
His ears and body perked up when he heard the quiet sound of footsteps approaching him and he quickly resumed sweeping, assuming it was one of his superiors. He was right, to an extent.
His jaw nearly detached itself from his face when he looked up at the woman approaching him.
"Hello," she said as she walked past him, those dark green eyes locking onto his sky blue ones for a brief second before returning their focus towards the hallway before her.
"What's she doing here," Hanataro wondered, his eyes locked on Nemu's form as she moved further down the hallway. She paused for a moment, looking around as if she was lost, before looking in his direction. Hanataro panicked, having been caught staring at her, and immediately resumed sweeping, directing his full attention to the floor beneath him.
Nemu tilted her head at this behavior, wondering what he could possibly gain by observing her. "Observing," Nemu hummed to herself, glancing down at the papers in her arms as an idea formed in her head, "Perhaps, if I were to study this boy it would benefit Father's research of him."
She nodded monotonously at this idea and casually made her way over to the sweeping boy. "I will ask him to escort me to Captain Unohana's office first, studying his reaction to the request, should he accept it, and then studying his behavior as he escorts me," she thought to herself, finally arriving within a few inches of the boy.
He didn't look up at her, afraid of the consequences of doing so, and continued to focus on the floor he swept. Nemu tilted her head at this behavior and she began wondering whether or not he was nearsighted or just oblivious.
"Excuse me," she politely began, the monotony in her voice lowering slightly. He paused his sweeping, hands trembling as they gripped the broom they held tighter, and nervously lifted his head so that his eyes could meet hers.
His heart began to thump wildly in his chest as the woman merely stared at him, her dark green eyes slowly examining him, and felt a heat rise in his face as Nemu tilted her head to the side with curiosity. He found the way she did it to be extremely adorable.
A few seconds of silence passed, until Hanataro realized what he was supposed to do. "A-ah, I'm sorry Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," he stammered, giving the woman an apologetic bow, "I-is there something you'd like me to do or something you n-need?"
He expected her to frown at him and shoot him a look that said 'as if you didn't know, you little pervert,' an image of the incident between him and the Lieutenant from a few weeks ago forming in his mind. Was she finally coming to exact her revenge?
Instead she merely cleared her throat, eyes never lifting from him, and continued.
"I would appreciate it if you were to escort me to Captain Unohana's office. Would you do that for me?"
"I, well, I suppose…ummm…o-okay, I'll do it," he replied, swallowing the lump in his throat as he coolly (well, at least as coolly as he could possibly do) walked past the stoic Lieutenant, "P-please follow me…"
"Thank you," Nemu nodded, quietly trailing after the boy.
"Response Analysis: Hanataro's stammering response to my request suggests a timid nature, further supported by the way he looks up at me with eyes that wonder whether or not I would be inclined to hurt him. It also shows a nature of kindness, as he could have merely denied my request and continue to perform to laborious task before him. Then again, it could also show a fearful nature as my being of a higher rank could have frightened him into accepting my request."
Hanataro felt extremely nervous doing this, leading someone like Nemu around. In fact, he felt so nervous that his body stiffened to the point where it was an awkward struggle to walk, something Nemu took note of.
"Movement Analysis: Hanataro's movements appear awkward and forced," she mentally wrote, "Whether or not this is normal for him is doubtful. Therefore, I believe this may have been brought on by a strong sense of nervousness, perhaps being triggered by my presence…interesting…"
"Ease up, HanataBro," the voice laughed, "You'll never get a girlfriend with that kind of behavior…"
Hanataro took the voice's advice, exhaling a deep breath, and began to relax enough that his walking returned to its normal level of awkwardness.
"Movements have changed, becoming more relaxed and natural. Spiritual Pressure Analysis: Hanataro's spiritual pressure is rather low even for an average Soul Reaper, posing no threat to me what so ever, but I find it rather strange. Underneath it, there seems to be another, relatively untapped, layer of spiritual pressure. From my current position I can hardly feel it, which might change should I move closer."
Nemu nodded slightly and casually drew closer to the boy who, after noticing how close she was to him, tensed up and felt nervous again.
"My assumption was correct. As I moved closer the untapped Spiritual Pressure layer (SP Layer B) could be felt with much more ease than before, though it was still very faint. What I could feel from it was strange. It felt dark and angry, about what I cannot determine right now, but I will find out later."
"H-here we are," Hanataro nervously laughed, pointing at the solid oak door in front of them, "This is Captain Unohana's office…Um, I-I hope you have a, um, well, uhh, good luck, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi."
"Thank you for your assistance," Nemu nodded, receiving a slight nod from the boy before he turned to leave. "Wait, I have another request. After your work hours are over, would you kindly come over to the 12th Squad Headquarters and see me?"
Hanataro was, to say the least, surprised by the request. After a few seconds of stammering and wondering what she wanted him to do for her after work, Hanataro finally agreed to her request, receiving a small (rare) smile from the Lieutenant that made him blush.
"Thank you," Nemu nodded before heading into Unohana's office, closing the door behind her.
"Hmmmm," Unohana hummed as she looked up from a document she was reading, "Oh, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here today?"
"I am here to deliver these papers to you, as requested by Captain Kurotsuchi," Nemu answered, handing the packet to Unohana, "That is all…"
Unohana gently took the packet and scanned through it, her face looking somewhat worried as she did so.
"Captain Unohana," Nemu slowly began, aware that she was interrupting the Captain's reading, "May I ask you something about the packet you are reading?"
"Sure, go ahead, Lieutenant," Unohana replied, a small smile on her face.
"My question pertains to the boy mentioned at the end of the packet, the one who escorted me here: Hanataro Yamada."
"Hanataro…" Unohana whispered, somewhat sadly, "What do you want to know about him?"
"I was wondering if you could disclose some information about his personality to me, for my research of him."
"Research, as in the research your father wants to conduct?"
"I suppose, though I personally find this 'Hanataro Yamada' interesting," Nemu replied, curiosity apparent in her voice.
"Oh, how so," Unohana asked, smiling.
"I find his timid nature, mannerisms, and his looks rather pleasant," Nemu thoughtfully replied, "I also find his spiritual pressure to be strangely interesting."
"Are you sure this isn't about more than just curiosity," Unohana giggled, confusing Nemu. She let out a playful sigh and smiled at the green-eyed Lieutenant, "As in, are you sure that you don't have a sort of attraction towards my Seventh Seat?"
"Attraction? A-as in sexually," Nemu blushed, something very foreign to her, "I-I, Captain Unohana, you misjudge my motives…I am merely curious about Hanataro…"
"I won't judge you," Unohana smiled, causing the Lieutenant to blush again, "Anyways, be sure to tell Captain Kurotsuchi that I will send him a copy of Hanataro's medical history and that he may draw Hanataro's blood if he wishes to do so himself, unless he wants me to do it."
"Understood," Nemu nodded.
------------------------------
"Ah, good, good," Captain Kurotsuchi mumbled, scratching his chin as he paced around his lab, "I'm glad Captain Unohana agreed to let me deal with this…Now, as a reward for doing such a good job, Nemu, take the rest of today off and go do whatever it is you do in your free time."
"But, Captain, I-"
"I insist, Nemu," Mayuri replied, motioning for her to leave, "Take the day off and do something fun or whatever. As for me, I have some more tests to run."
Before Nemu could protest, she was gently nudged and locked out of the lab.
"Father must be sick…perhaps he is trying to cure himself and does not want my assistance out of a sense pride he has? Or maybe he's attempting to change his behavior towards me…Either way, I should do as he asked and 'do something fun or whatever.'"
She had a difficult time deciding what was 'fun' to do, eventually finding that wandering around the Seireitei for awhile would suffice.
------------------------------
"But, there's still a lot of work to do, Captain Unohana," Hanataro stammered as the woman gave him a worried look, "And there's rumors of the 11th Squad going out on another Hollow hunting expedition which, as we've all come to know, always ends up badly. So, I'll probably be needed to help with healing and-"
"Hanataro," Unohana gently interrupted, raising her hand, "Please do as I ask and go home for now. I want you to eat a good meal and sleep well tonight, okay? You can continue your work tomorrow."
Hanataro attempted to protest, stammering as he tried to come up with a good argument, only to finally give up when he felt the full effect of Unohana's 'look.'
"O-okay, Captain Unohana," he whispered, bowing before he took his leave. "What am I going to do now," Hanataro wondered as he exited the 4th Squad Headquarters, sighing, "I'm not very tired, so I don't really want to go home right now…Maybe I'll go visit, no, they're in the human world right now…Oh! Ms. Rukia and Orihime are here, maybe I can…no…they're busy training, I'd just get in their way…"
Hanataro paused, sensing a relatively familiar spiritual pressure off in the distance, and glanced around a nearby corner. To his surprise, he spotted Nemu off in the distance, walking away from him. "Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, where's she…" Hanataro paused for a moment, attempting to recall something the Lieutenant had told him.
"After your work hours are over, would you kindly come over to the 12th Squad Headquarters and see me?"
"Would it be wrong to go see her now, I-I mean, she's probably still working...Then again, she told me to come see her after my work hours were over, so…ah…" Hanataro scratched his head as he tried to make his decision, noticing how far away Nemu was getting. Finally, he decided it would be better to go see her right now and reluctantly walked after her, keeping a large distance between them.
"Hmmm," Nemu quietly hummed as she picked up on the fact that someone was following her. She quickly deduced who was following her, deciding it was better to lead him to her predetermined testing grounds.
"Should I really be stalking Lieutenant Kurotsuchi like this," Hanataro nervously thought to himself as he followed the green-eyed lieutenant into a relatively dense forest, "What if she sees me and gets mad?"
Several worse case scenarios flooded Hanataro's mind, ranging from him being banished for stalking a Lieutenant to Nemu outright killing him and leaving him there to rot.
"After your work hours are over, would you kindly come over to the 12th Squad Headquarters and see me?"
Hanataro felt some relief when he remembered this. After all, he was only following her orders, right?
After a few more minutes of following Nemu and justifying his actions, the Lieutenant had led them to a relatively small clearing and abruptly halted her movements, startling Hanataro as he quickly hid behind a nearby tree.
He cautiously peered out from around the tree to see Nemu, holding her previously hidden zanpakuto, taking an offense stance. He watched as she made two quick slashing movements towards a tree to her right before placing a huge dent in it with her leg.
"Unacceptable," he could barely hear her mutter as she took in a deep breath, driving her blade into the tree after doing so. In one quick movement Hanataro could barely see, the tree fell over, its upper half having been successful cut off from its lower half.
Though Hanataro was aware of how powerful Captains and Lieutenants were, he was still awestruck. He was even more awestruck as he watched the Lieutenant continue her solo training, impressed by her amazing speed, flexibility, power, flexibility, and hand-eye coordination. He also admired her flexibility, the way she twisted and turned to kick and slash more unfortunate trees.
He leaned closer, attempting to get a better view as Nemu continued to train, tossing her zanpakuto high into the air so she could skillfully catch it when it came back down. He leaned even closer, eventually losing his grip on the tree and falling forward, barely catching himself before he hit the ground.
Nemu, somewhat startled at this, turned to look at him, a pained grunt escaping her as she accidently gripped the blade of her zanpakuto when it came back down. Hanataro, a worried look plastered on his face, scrambled to his feet and rushed to the Lieutenant's side.
"Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, a-are you okay," he worriedly asked, receiving his answer in the form of her severely bleeding hand.
"I'm sorry…I had forgotten that you were watching me and I became so engrossed with my training that you startled me, somewhat, when you made your presence known again," Nemu informed the boy, watching as he gently held her hand in his, "What are you…"
A gentle blue light radiated from his hand and her wound slowly began to close.
"Of course, I had temporarily forgotten that you were part of the 4th Squad…Seventh Seat, correct," she asked the boy, receiving a nod as she slowly opened and closed her hand, "My apologies, to you and my father…He'd be upset with me for making such a novice mistake…"
"You're welcome, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," Hanataro nodded, a frown replacing the blush on his face, "…Does Captain Kurotsuchi get mad at you very often…"
After he realized what he had said, Hanataro quickly covered his mouth, his apologies being muffled.
"Frustrated, yes. Angry, not very often," Nemu replied, not understanding why Hanataro had become so panicked, "Is there something wrong?"
"Ah, no, I was just, I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about your personal matters and what not," Hanataro nervously laughed, scratching his head.
"Understood," Nemu nodded, dusting herself off as she got back to her feet. Hanataro watched as she bent down to grab her zanpakuto, a heat rising in his face as he covered his eyes.
"I-I could go clean that for you, after all, it's my fault you cut yourself," Hanataro offered, his eyes still covered.
"No, thank you, I will do that later," Nemu replied, staring at the boy with a curious look, "Why do you cover your eyes? I don't see any abundance of light that would call for you to do that, so I assume that you find me displeasing to your eyes, correct?"
"Wha-no! You're not displeasing, I just didn't, uhh…" Hanataro stammered, blushing as he tried to come up with a suitable answer.
"You do not have to answer if you do not wish to do so, in fact we should move on to a different topic for now, as I do not wish to waste anymore of your time," Nemu interrupted, receiving a nod from the boy, "I assume you followed me because your work hours are over, correct?"
Hanataro nodded slightly. She was half right.
"Excellent, I am glad you have accepted my request," Nemu smiled slightly, "Now, are you ready to fulfill my request?"
"Y-yes…what exactly do I have to do?"
"Simple, all you need to do is fight me," Nemu replied in her usual tone.
Hanataro paused for a moment and then nervously laughed. Was she serious? If she was, this joke wasn't particularly funny. He looked up into her dark-green eyes, seeing that strange emerald fire he had only dreamed about; and it finally dawned on him: Nemu was not kidding.
"Are you cold," she asked the trembling boy, a look of curiosity on her face, "Would you like something to warm yourself up?"
"Ah, no…heh…ummmm, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi?"
"Yes, Hanataro?"
"Well, I…wait…" he paused and blushed when he realized that was the first time he had heard her say his name, both inside and outside of his dreams, "I-I was wondering, what exactly do you mean by me fighting you?"
"To clarify, I would like you fight me, as in a training fight," Nemu stated, nodding to herself, "If you are worried about being killed, I assure you that you won't be and that I will not be using my zanpakuto to fight you, in order to 'level the playing field' or something along those lines. Also, if you are worried about hurting me, don't be, as I am perfectly capable of dealing with any attacks you throw at me. Please, do not hold back."
Hanataro reluctantly nodded as he reached for Hisagomaru's hilt, his hand shaking as it pulled the zanpakuto from its prison. He almost lost his balance when he lunged for it as it nearly fell from his grip, receiving a curious look from Nemu.
"Are you ready," Nemu asked, refining her offensive stance as the boy finally got a grip on his zanpakuto.
"Yes…"
"Then come at me with your full strength."
Hanataro nodded, the realization that this wasn't a game or a dream finally dawning on him, and reluctantly charged the Lieutenant with closed eyes. She easily sidestepped him, grabbed the back of his collar, and tossed him over her shoulder.
"Why do you fight with your eyes closed? It seems rather ineffective to do so for someone of your caliber," Nemu wondered, watching as Hanataro reluctantly pulled himself from the ground, "Are you leading me into a false sense of security?"
"N-no, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, I was just…I'm not very comfortable fighting you…"
"Hmmmm, perhaps you feel uncomfortable fighting me because of my rank? If so, I have a solution: For now, I would like you to refer to me as 'Nemu' instead of 'Lieutenant Kurotsuchi,' understood?"
"But, that's not really what I…"
"I insist, as I believe that if you were to refer to me by my first name, as I do you, it will create a level of equality that will make you more comfortable…Unless…would you like me to refer to you as 'Lieutenant Yamada?'"
Hanataro nearly froze at that as several memories of his father flashed through his mind, his breathing becoming somewhat shaky, before he kindly shook his head.
"Then let us continue…"
Five minutes passed before Hanataro could actually land a hit on the Lieutenant, causing Hisagomaru's gauge to slightly fill.
"Interesting, your zanpakuto quickly heals the injuries it causes and stores them, correct?"
"Y-yes, it can also heal injuries it didn't cause and when its gauge fills-"
"Revealing your techniques to me before using them is dangerous, Hanataro," Nemu informed the boy, "I would like to find out your move-set through experience, not word-of-mouth."
"I understand, N-Nemu…" Hanataro gulped, gripping Hisagomaru tightly before charging the Lieutenant again.
This time, however, she let him hit her, pushing him away afterwards. He charged her again, missing her as she easily evaded him, only to have his zanpakuto be easily caught in her hand.
"Hmmm…your movements are still relatively slow and awkward, but they've improved, somewhat, for some strange reason," Nemu mused, gripping Hisagomaru's blade tightly, causing the gauge to steadily fill, "And your spiritual pressure seems to be growing, though very slightly."
"Hear that, HanataBro? She sounds impressed with you! Wanna keep it that way," the voice from before asked, a somewhat dizzy feeling, Hanataro.
Nemu's eyes widened slightly as Hanataro suddenly jerked Hisagomaru away from her, immediately taking a swing at her that she barely avoided. "You were leading me into a false sense of security," Nemu stated, her words laced with curiosity, "And your eyes…You don't appear to be wearing contacts and, unless I am mistaken, I'm more than sure that they were yellow just a brief second ago."
Hanataro didn't respond, his breathing was hard and at uneven intervals. Nemu cocked an eyebrow at this and cautiously approached the boy, feeling his spiritual pressure fluctuate.
"Hanataro, are you okay," she asked, gently placing her hand on his shoulder.
Hanataro shook his head and looked up at her with a confused look, as if he had never lashed out at Nemu, "What do you mean? I feel perfectly f-fine…"
"Are you sure," Nemu asked, receiving a nod from the boy, "Then let us continue, okay?"
Hanataro nodded and took an offensive stance before reluctantly charging Nemu again. After several more minutes, Hisagomaru's gauge filled and Hanataro reluctantly prepared to release its Shikai.
"…Fulfill…Hisagomaru," he called out, reluctant releasing a tidal wave of red energy towards Nemu, who stared at it with surprise before being completely engulfed by it.
"N-Nemu!"
"Impressive, I assumed such a thing would happen, as all that energy must be released eventually…"
Hanataro turned and nearly jumped out of his skin when he found Nemu standing a few inches behind him. She glanced down at the scalpel he held in his hand, assuming, correctly, that it was his zanpakuto.
"Y-yeah, but when Hisagomaru transforms into Akeiro Hisagomaru it becomes useless in a fight until it changes back," Hanataro explained, raising the scalpel to where Nemu could see it better, "So, I won't be of much use to you for awhile…I'm sorry…"
"On the contrary, I do need you," Nemu quickly replied, surprising herself and Hanataro, "By that I mean, I would like you to accompany to the river nearby, as I need to clean my zanpakuto and hand."
"Of course, I'll go with you."
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"Here, you can use this if you want," Hanataro said, searching through his medical pack before unfolding a neatly folded wash cloth.
"Thank you," Nemu nodded, accepting the cloth before kneeling down and dipping it into the river. She washed hand first, removing the hardened trail of blood that had formed on it, and then moved on to her zanpakuto.
Hanataro quietly watched as she did this, his mind wandering. There was a certain glow about her, he thought, as she gently cleaned her zanpakuto, giving the once pure white cloth a dirty red color. The light reflecting from the river added a beautiful sparkle to her face and, somewhat more importantly, her eyes.
It gave her eyes a spark of life, illuminating the darkness of stoicism and slight melancholy that had previously engulfed them.
Nemu looked up at him, her eyes staring into his, and tilted her head. "Hanataro, is there something wrong," she asked the hypnotized boy, "Hanataro?"
"Huh…o-oh! I'm sorry, I-I just got distracted, that's all," Hanataro nervously laughed.
"I see," Nemu replied, setting the bloody wet cloth aside while she sheathed her zanpakuto. She looked out at the river gently flowing before her and sighed at how long it'd been since she'd relaxed like this. "Hanataro," she hummed, catching the boy's attention, "Please come sit next to me."
Hanataro let out a surprised sound, but complied nonetheless. He got as close as he thought was necessary, not wanting to crowd the Lieutenant, and occupied himself with staring at the river.
"You're very respectful, I see," Nemu noted, catching the boy's attention again, "I've heard tales of how men will take any opportunity they could to get close to a woman, but you choose to sit as close as you believe is necessary for me, correct?"
Hanataro nodded slightly, receiving another slight smile from Nemu.
"Or you're too bashful to get too close to me, correct?"
Hanataro nodded again, blushing as Nemu's smile slightly grew.
"Honesty is a good trait to have…But…" Nemu's smile disappeared and she frowned slightly, "I suppose I must be honest with you as well…My true motive for asking you here was for research that my father is conducting on you."
"Research?"
"Yes, I'm not sure what the specifics are of the research, but I do know that it pertains to you and a strange apple my father received for testing purposes."
Hanataro nodded slightly, his head throbbing. He gently clutched it, rubbing his temples to successfully sooth the throbbing.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it was just a brief headache," he replied, "N-now…you were saying something about Captain Kurotsuchi's research on me?"
"Yes, he asked me to deliver a packet of papers to Captain Unohana and at the end of that packet was a page with your picture on it that asked for a sample of your blood and a copy of your medical history."
"And I assume you're here for my blood, right," Hanataro sadly sighed as Nemu nodded, "I guess that figures."
Nemu paused for a moment, scanning Hanataro's sad countenance, and felt her stomach tighten. This had never happened to her before, but she understood what the feeling was: 'Guilt.'
"Hanataro, I know you are disappointed by this announcement," Nemu softly started, placing a hand on the healer's shoulder, "But, I did enjoy your presence…even if I had ulterior motives for wanting it…"
"Take it," Hanataro mumbled, lifting his right arm, "…It's fine with me, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi…"
Nemu, after a few seconds of tense silence, produced an empty syringe and prepared Hanataro's arm for blood drawing. He bit his lip as the needle pierced his skin, pulling a strangely dark stream of blood from the boy.
"It's done," Nemu whispered as she removed the syringe, "I'm sorry that…Hanataro?"
The boy had begun to gently sway from side to side, his eyes growing tired, before he suddenly doubled over, clutching his pained stomach. Nemu watched with a sense of helplessness as Hanataro began to violently cough, attempting to sooth him by any means she knew how.
"My head hurts, HanataBro…What have you been doing to yourself?"
Hanataro unsuccessful tried to keep himself from throwing up, a river of a white liquid-like substance flowing from his mouth into the river, with the last thing he heard being Nemu's assurance that he'd be okay.
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"I apologize, Captain Unohana, as I fear that my actions resulted in the condition he is in now," Nemu stated, never lifting her eyes from the unconscious boy resting in the bed in front of her.
"You only drew his blood, correct," Unohana asked, receiving a nod from Nemu, "Then no blame belongs to you, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi. I'm afraid whatever that apple contained is to blame for this."
Unohana handed the Lieutenant a vial of dark red liquid, a worried smile on her face.
"That's a sample of Hanataro's blood, for Captain Kurotsuchi's use…Please make sure this gets to him…"
"Understood…" Nemu replied, accepting the vial without looking away from Hanataro.
"He's stabilized, so he'll be fine…a little tired, maybe, but otherwise he'll be fine…" Unohana assured Nemu before she took her leave.
Nemu stared at Hanataro's unconscious form, tightly gripping the vial in her hand.
He began to stir, slowly forcing his eyes open. It didn't take him long to figure out that he was being hospitalized and he felt a small wave of panic flow over him.
"Nemu," he whispered while looking around the room as if she would be there, only to be disappointed that she wasn't.
He let out a small sigh as he fell back onto his bed, turning his head to glance at the clock on his nightstand. To his surprise, lying on the nightstand was a familiar piece of white cloth, neatly folded into a small square, with a note on it.
He reluctantly reached for the note, unfolded it, and slowly read it; a quiet smile, along with heavy blush, appearing on his face.
Charles: "I wonder what was written on the letter…"
Author: "Well, that's it for this story, though I'll come back and revise it sometime this week or tomorrow (right now I'm tired). I like the beginning and end, but the journey itself needs a little work and some meaningful 'fluff.' As always, questions, comments, concerns, reviews, favs, whatever are welcome. I kind of wanna know how I can improve on this coupling, for future references. I believe I got their personalities down pat, but I just wanna know what I can do better."
Note: "Anyways, I first actually thought of this couple after playing 'Bleach: Dark Souls' for the DS. While playing through arcade mode with Hanataro I encountered and fought Nemu. The fight didn't end well, considering the gap in power, speed, defense, and overall abilities, and Nemu wiped the floor with me. So I tried again, lost again, tried again, lost again, tried again, and the cycle repeats. That's how I came up with 'The Unbeatable One. This story was somewhat difficult, at least in terms of writing the couple in a one-shot, as unlike mainstream couples (like Ichigo x Rukia) this coupling needs time to develop (like Soifon x Hanataro in my other story). But, I believe it went well enough. I might even make an actual story out of this couple, after 'Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer' is finished."