Charliechick Note: New Moon = 2.5 hours of fan service. No distinguishable plot apparent. My sister Rhi and I were paying it out the whole time, and the best part of the entire film was the crying Asian dude watching Romeo and Juliet.
Enough of that now Anyways, here comes the next chapter.
Chapter Twelve: Memories of Times Gone By
December 20th
"It's your turn to open a present, Ichigo!"
A younger Ichigo excitedly took a package from his pile and began ripping apart the gift paper to find what was inside. Soon, a deep red sweater dropped out of the wrapping and into his hands. It felt so soft, velvety and warm, and Ichigo instantly hugged it close to his chest, inhaling welcoming fuzziness. It smelt like home, and the people he cared about.
"Do you like it?" his mother asked. "You've been growing so much lately, so I made it extra big so you could grow into it and wear it longer."
"Thankyou, mama!" said Ichigo, hugging his mother.
Masaki hugged her son in return, "Anything for you, sweetie."
…
Ichigo awoke abruptly to the sound of a drunken rendition of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'. His curiosity got the better of him as he approached to window to locate the source of the noise.
"Eighth and eleventh…" he sighed to himself. "Those idiots, what the heck are they doing drunk at this hour?"
As he headed back to his bed, he began to remember the vivid images of the dream he had just had. The final Christmas he had spent with his mother.
"It's never been the same without you, mama…" Ichigo said, as though his mother was standing right before him.
Glancing at the time, Ichigo decided to get up and ready for the day. If he didn't, Ukitake would be in soon, flamboyantly pestering him to rise and shine, as he had done so every other day. But Ichigo wasn't in the mood today. He got out of bed, showered and slipped into his Christmas getup without complaint. He would never admit it to anyone, but he had grown rather fond of the hat. He left his room and headed over to the division's courtyard, where he usually began the day with Ukitake. It sure had been a good storm that night, Ichigo noted as he surveyed the whiteness of the Seireitei. It was almost like Hueco Mundo.
When he reached the scheduled meeting area, Ukitake was nowhere to be seen. After about half an hour of waiting, the friendly captain still hadn't shown up and Ichigo was beginning to wonder.
This isn't like Jyushiro… he thought.
After a few more minutes of waiting, he decided to make his way over to Ukitake's residence and see what was taking him so long. Ukitake's house wasn't far off. Ichigo reached it within five minutes. As he walked on the bridge over the freshly frozen koi pond, the 13th's 4th seat came out of the house to greet him.
"Hey," said Ichigo as the boy approached. "Its Kyokoto, isn't it?"
The boy, Kyokoto nodded before talking. "The Captain is unwell today. All he requests is that you complete your basic deliveries today."
"Jyushiro's sick?" asked Ichigo. "Will he get better? Can I see him?"
Kyokoto shook his head. "I'm sorry Ichigo, but that's not possible. It has been requested by 4th division Captain, Retsu Unohana that he sees as few as possible."
"Well…thanks anyway Kyokoto," said Ichigo, before leaving to prepare the day's deliveries.
Aizen smiled and surveyed the throne hall. The once bare, bleak looking chamber had been cheered up immensely, and it was hard to tell if it was even the same room. Yet it was still undergoing preparations for the Christmas party on the 24th. Already, he and the co-decorators—whom juts so happened to be his favourite four Privaron Espada and two dorky fraccion—had laid out the temporary dance floor for the occasion.
"Break time~!" Aizen announced and he and the six Arrancar gathered around the open fireplace with mugs of hot chocolate and eggnog.
"How many Christmases have you seen, Aizen-sama?" asked Dordonii, taking a seat.
"Probably more than your mother," replied Aizen, sipping from his mug.
"But we don't have mothers," stated Cirucci.
"Nonsense," spoke The Great Aizen. "Of course you have mothers, I am your mother."
There was a short confusing pause.
"Well how does that work?" stammered Gatenbainne.
"What do you mean?" asked Aizen.
The four continued rambling on about utter garbage, as the other three looked on.
"They sure like getting confusing," the small child-like Arrancar, Nel said, her eyes wide.
"And boring," added Donochakka.
"We couldn't even bring Bawabawa in," frowned Nel.
"Oi, you guys!" Pesche shouted to the other four, although they were quite close. "Look at me! I can drink my hot chocolate through my eye!"
He proceeded to do so.
There was momentary silence before Gatenbainne spoke. "Wow."
"That's gross, you know," said Cirucci.
"You're just jealous," Pesche said, folding his arms and looking away.
"Why would that make us jealous?" asked Dordonii.
"Can we change the subject?" asked Donochakka.
"Then what do you suggest we talk about, weirdo?" questioned Cirucci.
"Hmm…" said Pesche. "What are us three even doing here anyway? Like one moment we were enjoying a peaceful time in the sand dunes, next we're taken here by a bunch of homos…"
"Exequias," corrected Aizen smiling. "And as for your question, I simply wanted to spend time with some quality time with some good old Espada of mine. You two can leave if you like, as you are just mere ex-fraccion."
"But we can't leave Nel," whined Donochakka.
"Do as you wish," waved Aizen dismissively.
"Wait a moment!" came an angry voice from the entrance. "If this is for ex-Espada, then how come I wasn't invited?"
Aizen cursed under his breath. "He wouldn't just stay dead, would he?"
"Gah!" said Pesche. "It's the she-male!"
"The name's Luppi, if you don't mind," frowned the newcomer as it sat down with the rest of the group.
"Well are you a he or a she?" asked Dordonii. "Because it's hard to tell…"
"Enough with the hard questions," Luppi wined as it helped itself to eggnog. "Aizen-sama, please talk about something more interesting."
"Very well," sighed Aizen. "I shall tell you about a Christmas I celebrated about 120 years ago."
The ex-Espada and Fraccion huddled closer as Aizen began to recite his story.
"It was back in my early days as Lieutenant of the 5th Division," began Aizen. "This one particular Christmas, my beloved, idiotic Captain was free for the season."
"Was your Captain a girl?" asked Pesche.
"Uhh…not from what I recall…" said Aizen.
"Did your Captain like mince?"
"Yes, but that's beside the point. Anyway, my Captain grew an unprompted urge to go and visit the North Pole to visit the real Santa."
"What an idiot," remarked Cirucci.
"Nel wants to do that!" said Nel.
"Now unbeknownst to me, my dear Captain was a hopeless navigator when it came to the world of the living," spoke Aizen.
"How so?" questioned Gatenbainne.
"You see, we ended up on a small island just off the south coast of New Zealand."
"So?" asked Pesche.
"New Zealand is not the North Pole."
"What?"
"Did you see sheep while you were there, Aizen-sama?"
"What about the Hobbits? Did you see any of those?"
"Any Kiwis?"
"Yes, yes, and yes," said Aizen, nodding.
"Aizen-sama," said Cirucci. "Surely you knew you were heading in the wrong direction…"
Aizen nodded. "Indeed. I began to get suspicious when we were in the middle of a hot, dry land on top of a huge red rock. My Captain was convinced it was Russia and kept leading in the direction he thought was north. When we finally got to that small island, I saw penguins and that confirmed my suspicions."
"Why would that confirm anything?" asked Donochakka.
"Because," replied Aizen wisely. "Penguins belong in the South Pole. Not the North Pole."
There was a gasp of astonishment amongst the ex-Espada.
"Your perception, knowledge and intelligence was as brilliant as always, Aizen-sama," Luppi complimented.
"Why thankyou," said Aizen. "I hope my intuition has inspired the lot of you."
"How did you get back, Aizen-sama?" asked Dordonii.
Aizen glared. "With the help of Kisuke Urahara."
There was a long pause before Aizen continued his memories of other Christmases.
"And then of course the year there was such a big snow storm that us captains could not partake in the emergency meeting and Zaraki Kenpachi and his fellow 11th Division brutes became snowed in. Needless to say, the streets were peaceful for a few days."
"I remembers the Christmas the idiot Nnoitra fell down the stairs and Nel had to stay with him in the Emergency room," said Nel, grinning.
"Ah yes," said Aizen. "That was back when he was only new as an Espada. He didn't know his way around and missed the stairs in the dark. The poor thing"
"From what I remember, the lights were on," said Cirucci. "And he was being an idiot, trying to show off and he fell."
"And how would you know?" questioned Aizen.
"Because I was there," replied Cirucci. "He was showing off for me."
"What about that time you sent us all a Christmas card from the Soul Society," said Dordonii. "Before you revealed your true intentions to them and came to reside permanently in Las Noches."
"Ah yes," said Aizen. "That was the year the Women's and Men's Associations joined forces to issue Christmas card packs to the Seireitei."
"I remember the Christmas that Grimmjow made Ulquiorra dress as Santa," said Luppi.
Aizen laughed. "Yes I remember that too. You were even sweet enough to send me the photo in the mail. One of my subordinates happened across it and had no idea what it was."
"This Christmas, Nel wants a kitty," said Nel, smiling.
"I want a potato peeler!" said Donochakka.
"I want a slick-shiner 3000!" said Pesche. "For my infinite slick," he added, as Cirucci gave him an odd glare.
"I want a sex change!" said Luppi.
"I want a garden hose!" said Cirucci
"I want a bottle opener!" said Gatenbainne.
"I want an inflatable cushion-shoe!" said Dordonii.
"And I want a handy-crafts club sewing kit designed by Uryu Ishida!" declared Aizen.
There was an awkward pause as the seven Arrancar stared blankly at their great leader.
"What?" asked Aizen.
The awkward silence continued.
"What?"
There were relatively few deliveries, all things considered. Ichigo had already finished his duties and it was only five in the evening. Wanting to let off some stress, he decided to go for a stroll. He walked through the Seireitei's snow-covered gardens. He didn't even know that the Seireitei had gardens until the other day when he was to deliver something to a 4th division officer who was busy tending them. They had taken a considerable amount of time informing Ichigo about all the different sorts of herbs and what they did in the way of healing. Some were semi-translucent, but metallic in colour and were said to have such healing properties that were literally able to regrow appendages almost instantaneously when used in the right hands. But that's all that Ichigo remembered. Walking past the spot he'd met the officer, he looked down to the herbs, but was unable to see any of the fascinating colours in the blackness of the night. He continued on in the garden. Not many things were in bloom. The only reason the herbs were alive was because of a complex Kido Unohana had placed on them. Other than that, giant wintry trees dwarfed the places sunshine was supposed to hit. The shrubs and trees were all leafless and fruitless, just bare skeletons of the cold winter's air. All the birds were gone as well.
So…thought Ichigo, as he sat by a frozen pond. If winter brings death, then summer is supposed to bring life…then why…?
"Why did she have to leave then?" he spoke out loud, voice nearly breaking. "Why did she leave when life is supposed to be it's liveliest?"
He scrunched his hands into fists as he gazed out to the icy pond, a mist from a low cloud glazing off its surface, and recalled his first memory of a garden…
A mildly pregnant Masaki guided Ichigo down a small path out the back of their house.
"When can I look?" asked Ichigo, having his eyes closed.
"I'll tell you," said Masaki.
Only a few moments later, Masaki announced, "We're here, Ichigo. You can open your eyes now."
Ichigo opened his eyes to see what looked like a dozen tiny Christmas trees all decked out with multi-coloured Christmas lights and adorned with miniature decorations.
"Wow!" said the young Ichigo, fascinated by the sight around him. "So pretty!"
"Your father set this up just yesterday," Masaki said smiling. "I thought you would like it."
Ichigo gazed in delight as the small trees shone all their glory against the snow-covered ground.
…
The years went by, and decorating the back garden became tradition. Each Christmas, the Kurosaki family would adorn the small trees once again and enjoy the festive spirit the task bought. That was every Christmas until Masaki died.
The year was coming to a close. So much had happened this year. So much that shouldn't have. A ten-year-old Ichigo sat in the over-growing, undecorated garden as light snow drifted from the sky. The gardening had always been Masaki's job, and Isshin hadn't gotten around to tending to it after the accident. Ichigo had asked his father if they could decorate the garden once again this year, but Isshin had changed the subject whenever the question popped up. Ichigo guessed it was because it bought back too many painful memories.
Every year that followed was the same, and in the end Ichigo didn't bother even asking about decorating the garden, and tried to forget it. The garden continued to overgrow, and snow piled up throughout the winter, killing off any of the life, and leaving a forgotten, frozen assortment of leafless shrubs, bushes and trees. Christmas, and life in general was never the same without her.
A voice then interrupted Ichigo from his memories. "Winter is not a time of death, you know."
Ichigo turned to see his white-haired company. "Ah, it's you, Jyushiro…"
Ukitake continued. "And neither is summer, or any other season for that matter. In fact they all have their different aspects of life." He then came and took a seat next to his helper.
"What's troubling you, Ichigo?" he asked.
"Nothing," replied Ichigo. "Just been thinking about stuff… Wait, you're sick! Get back inside, do you wanna die or something?"
Ukitake smiled. "A few moments in the cool winter air won't kill me. I would think it would actually be beneficial after being cooped up inside all day."
"…Alright then," said Ichigo, as he hugged his knees to his body. "But don't stay out for too long."
The two sat in silence for a few moments, before Ukitake began speaking again. "Only four days of the service left."
"Yeah," said Ichigo, smiling softly. "It's been…a good experience."
"I heard you found that boy's mother," said Ukitake.
"We did," said Ichigo. "Even though it seemed impossible."
Ukitake simply smiled. "And yet it wasn't…"
They sat in silence for a few more moments, before Ukitake spoke again.
"Ichigo," he said, turning and looking at his helper. "Don't dwell on the past."
"What do you mean?" asked Ichigo.
"What's done is done," said Ukitake. "It's time to move on. Let it go. Live in the present and strive toward the future."
"If only things were so easy," murmured Ichigo, looking out to the misty lake.
"Of course things are always easier to say," said Ukitake. "But it's a natural happening. Life comes and goes, even for us Shinigami. But not just physical life. Alliances form and break. Empires rise and crumble. Seasons are in an ongoing cycle. But true friendship is everlasting. The bonds you have with those closest to you will never break, even in death. So hold onto those bonds tight Ichigo, and don't let them go. 'Cause we're not going to let go of you."
Ichigo shifted his arms and looked down, trying to resist the shaking feeling that was taking over his body. He wasn't quite sure why, but Ukitake's words were oddly soothing.
"Jyushiro…" said Ichigo. "I think…I'm beginning to understand…"
Ukitake smiled. "After yesterday, I think you already do."
"Jyushiro…" was all Ichigo could managed to say, as all the built up tension in his body began to give out at once.
Ukitake placed a comforting arm around Ichigo. This time, Ichigo didn't shake the arm off. Rather, the kindly action was welcomed.
Charliechick Note: Once again I hope it wasn't dumb. The style I have been writing in the past two chapters has been quite out of my genre, but it had to be done for the story. Constructive criticism would be appreciated ;) I wish I could have elaborated on Hitsu's bday. Ah well, I'm already getting ideas for next years story, se we'll see then. Tomorrow's chapter will be a whole lot more light hearted to say the least.
Until then!
-Kris
