I do not own Bleach sadly. This story contains a few Ocs so if you don't like that don't read it but if your willing to please give it a chance. Also please Read and review, tell me if you think it's good or rubbish I don't mind (although constructive criticisms would be helpful.) If you have any good ideas of what could happen please tell me (I often get really stuck for ideas after a while.)
I must have been forced into a sleep by the medicine that they gave me, or it could have been the unbelievable pain that caused me to fall into my restless slumber. I could feel that I was in a dream, knowing that though the things I saw and did felt real they did not feel as they should. The wind that whipped across my skin was more painful than the real gentle wind that pushed at the body with force rather than tiny needles. I felt my bare feet on the prickly grass beneath them, I did not know where I was going, nor did I know where I had been, the excess of mist made sure of that, forcing me into a strange kind of blindness, one that was both comforting and frightening. It was then, when I walked no more than ten steps forwards that I noticed her, she looked as she had when she was alive, warm, gentle and her eyes sparkling with a joy that I could not perceive, her hair just like mine hung down her back, though hers was bright and moved like the wind, so beautifully, I wanted to touch it, I wanted to feel it so I could remember again. I knew that I had forgotten her face though she had only been dead for a year and half. I walked to her wanting to see her, wanting to speak with her, selfishly I wanted her to tell me her death was not my fault.
"My dearest Alysse." She whispered in that voice that I knew, soft and light like an angel's song. "You have forgotten me." She said sadly. I shook my head, tears welling in my eyes, how could I forget her? True, my father would not suffer any of her pictures being on show but I could not forget her, maybe I could forget her face but I knew I would recognise her as soon as I saw her again.
"No." I replied sadly shaking my head vigorously. At this she patted the grass next to her, summoning me to be by her side.
"Did you forget who you were?" she asked again, this time it was no more than a question, her face turned to me showing all of the features that I now remembered clear as day. "Did you forget the blood that runs through your veins?" I shook my head again, how could I forget my forebears? It was not possible. Her eyes looked kindly down at me. After a moment or two of silence she let out a long heavy sigh, one that I was not accustomed to from her. "Perhaps I forgot to tell you my dearest Alysse, when I was alive I was so careless like that, please forgive me for not realising my departure from this world would come so soon." I looked at her, letting a tear slip from my chin to the floor beneath me. It was only when my tear hit the floor that the mist disappeared, forming a sky. What we sat on was no more than a giant piece of floating rock, flying above a magnificent city where in there were beautiful white houses guarded only by a wall. The city was a little bit like a castle though not quite and at the centre stood a large tower with only one window. Down below us I could see tiny men dressed all in black pointing at us and shouting at one another, how strange I thought wondering what on earth they were doing here in my dream.
"Where are we?" I asked looking at the woman sat next to me, her beautiful white kimono showing no signs of dirt even though it billowed out around her legs making her look like a bride or a princess.
"Do you like it here?" She asked. I looked at her, what a strange question, we had been here for so little time it was almost impossible for me to form an opinion of the place.
"It is very beautiful, though I worry what lies beyond the wall." I stated, as if told what to say, in fact I had not really noticed what was beyond the wall at all.
"Yes." She replied thoughtfully. "I have not been here for a long time." She confessed. I wanted to ask her a million questions now, what was this place? Why had she not been here in a while? Should she have been here? But I was cut off by another depressed sigh. "I fear that you will not be here much longer my dearest Alysse, give your uncle my love." And with those words spoken I slipped into darkness only to awaken to a hospital room.
My uncle sat in a chair near my bed asleep, his light snores were the only thing that told me he was there, I was too busy wondering why I was here. For a while I watched the tall balding man who was so obviously too large for the small chair. After several minutes though I craved answers, why was I here? What had happened? Then it came back to me and I felt the exhaustion sweep over me again. But something nagged at me while I lay on the brink between sleep and wake, there had been something stood over that shop but I could not remember what it was all I knew was that it was important. It was like all the other times, I always saw something and every time when I woke up I would no longer no what it was, as though my brain was locking it away so that I could not search for it, which would be highly unlikely.
After several hours in the hospital my doctor claimed me to be fine and though he admitted that he thought I was having a heart attack at first on a later inspection he found that such a thing was not possible. Jiro and I got a taxi back from the house and though he talked animatedly about how relieved he was I could not bring myself to look at him, I had wasted his time and his money just to find out I was fine, when I explained this to him he told me that he did not mind, though I suspected that he did, deep down. The taxi dropped us off at the end of the street. On passing the shop I could not held but stop, images flashed in my mind of the thing, yet all I saw in my mind was a black smoke.
"Are you feeling better Alysse-san?" I turned my head to see the young girl skipping over to me a shy look in her eyes, carrying what I guessed to be her signature brush.
"Yes, thank you…" I stopped realising that I did not know her name. She corrected me immediately.
"Ururu." She replied her eyes shining happily.
"Thank you for your concern." I beamed at her kindly and at this she blushed profusely.
"Ah, I see you're looking a lot better Alysse-chan." I looked at the man who had, some how walked out off the shop without me even noticing his presence, perhaps I was just not concentrating at all. The man was in no way ugly, in fact he was gorgeous though the hat he wore was strange and reminded me of one that you get from cheesy parties. He was a little… Rough I suppose with his stubbled chin and strange clothes. I caught myself before I did something embarrassing or dishonourable.
"Thank you, I am feeling a lot better." I replied smiling at him though I knew he did not buy it.
"Tell me did the doctor find out what was wrong?" He asked nosily, if this had been anyone else I would have been furious with their interest in my personal affairs but this man was different some how, I did not know why but I wanted to tell him just to hear his reply.
"No." I replied. "They thought it was a heart attack but when they tested again this morning they found out it was not." I said. My eyes held no worry, I did not fear death, I had been so ready to die the first time it happened yet I could not help but wonder if I truly was ready, if my last breath would be one of anger or whether I would be ok with leaving this world.
"Hmm…" The man said, his face was no more troubled than my own, I was suree that within time he would have replied and the reply would have been one of interest, however at that moment my uncle interrupted.
"Forgive me Urahara-san but I fear that Alysse is tired and in desperate need of rest." My dear uncle looked at me checking me over, noticing the frightening bags under my eyes. "Despite her lack of complaint." I silently laugh at him, not cruelly more out of happiness, I am happy that he cares enough to worry for my well-being. We said our goodbyes then headed back to the fairy tale cottage.
That night was a quiet event as it often seemed to be when Jiro was thinking, though I did not mind it gave me time to collect my own scattered thoughts.
"Perhaps you need something to take your mind off it." He stated, I looked up from my rice that I had been picking at for over five minutes now. I looked at him confused. "Perhaps a hobby or just something that will make you feel relaxed." We both thought for a moment before I spoke cautiously to him as he busied himself with folding his napkin.
"Do you have any of my mother's books?" I asked, he looked up suddenly as if electrocuted by the thin napkin that he held between his fingers. "From when she came to stay." I told him, at this he calmed down though I worried, what was he hiding? Was my mother not supposed to come here to see him? Was I not supposed to know?
"Yes, in the study." He replied keeping his face pointed at the table so that I could not see his expression.
The study was magnificent, just what was expected of a fairy tale cottage, uncle Jiro had many books though all of them were old and tattered with leather bound fronts. It seemed that some of the books were neither English nor were they Japanese, I noticed this as my eyes passed over a familiar word though if asked I could not place it, possibly my mother had mentioned it to me when she was alive 'Quincy' My eyes finally passed over a shelf full of fine, well kept books, recognition sparked in my eyes as I lifted one.
'Property of: Elizabeth Hanakura.' My mothers name lay in the first page, written in an elegant script that was both beautiful and perfect in every letter. I picked up the books that were hers and took them to my room. When I got to the dimly lit room I threw myself onto the bed opening the first book I had picked up. It was a strange little book, all about spiritual pressure and those who have opposite spiritual pressure; the book was heavily annotated with both my mother's elegant script and another clumsy one that fitted around the edges of paragraphs. 'Dark spirits' was crossed out and the word 'Hollow' replaced it above the line of printed writing. I flicked through the other books and found that the same two forms of handwriting were there also.
That night after I had read ten pages of one of my mother's books I got into bed, though I could not sleep. I closed my eyes and watched as a distant red light in my mind grew, it was not large, nor did it feel close it was just there. Then yet again it happened, this time not so bad, a slight increase and shaking caused me panic. Deep into the night I swore I could hear an inhumanly shriek.
