Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to us except for the words' order. The Characters belong to Kubo Tite. And we don't get money with that.

Raiting: P6 / G

Genre: General / Drama

Charakters: Kurotsuchi Nemu, Kurotsuchi Mayuri

Summary: Nemu wakes up in a world where failure is not tolerated.

A/N: Nachtschatten: We're still looking for a betareader (and a psychiatrist as well)
Berendis: Wouldn't anyone do the job for us? We can't be that bad, can we? (Oh yes, we can, but still...)
Nachtschatten: Well, we can't do anything more about it but to beg one of you to be our beta reader. So, enjoy the fanfiction. (This time, I translated - as you might notice - I'm much worse than Berendis)
Berendis: I told you you're not:grumbles: Why won't you just listen to me?
Nachtschatten: Because I'm right. ;P
Berendis: You're not! But well... let's not bore our readers with that, or no one will ever read the ff. So, on to the fanfiction! Have fun!

Oneshot #2: You're Not Allowed To Fail!

She took a deep breath. It smelled strangely of chemicals and she could hear the beeping of various machines. Opening her eyes, flashy light blinded her. She blinked to get used to it. "Where am I?" she whispered.

"You're inside my laboratory, Nemu," a raspy voice replied.

"Nemu," she repeated. "Is that my name?"

"Kurotsuchi Nemu," the voice said. "You're my daughter."

Slowly she sat up. Her body felt dully, like it wouldn't belong to her. Sharp pain shot through her spine as she moved, but it fainted soon. Slowly she lifted her hand to her face. Her skin was pale, nearly white and her fingers were long and thin.

Nemu stroke through her hair with her fingers. It was soft and even. She turned her head towards her father. He wore a black-white mask, yellow eyes glaring out of it.

"My name is Kurotsuchi Mayuri. You're supposed to call me Mayuri-sama," he said.

Nemu nodded.

Mayuri handed her some clothes. They were completely black. "Pick these up!" he ordered.

Nemu nodded again. Warily she stood up and took the clothes. Her knees were shaking lightly under her weight and it took a moment before she could stand safely.

She let her fingers run through the fabric. It felt softly, but also kind of roughly. A strange feeling… She unfolded the fabric but she didn't know what to do with it. What was she supposed to do?

"What's with you? Pick it up, already!" her father – Mayuri-sama – ordered. Nemu looked helplessly upon the clothes in her hands.

"I don't know how," she whispered. Mayuri snorted and ripped the fabric out of her hands.

"I don't believe this!" he said with angry voice. "Are you stupid?"

He showed her how to dress herself. When she finished, he nodded contently.

"Now listen," he said. "From now on, I'm your master. You don't do anything without my orders or my permission. If you fail, I will punish you. Understood?"

Hesitating, Nemu nodded. "Yes, Mayuri-sama."

"I will teach you Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Kidou and Houho. Furthermore you will learn the exposure to machines and to produce poisons and antidotes. I will train you to be my lieutenant. If you fail, I will anatomise and upgrade you," Mayuri explained.

Nemu shivered. She didn't want to be destroyed again. She had just started to live.

"One thing: Don't dare to disagree with me," he ended. "Yes, sir," Nemu whispered, her voice could hardly be heard.

This man frightened her and she didn't doubt one moment that he would make true what he told her.

"Now, follow me," he ordered and went to a door at the other end of the laboratory. Nemu followed him, swaying a bit at first, before her steps became safer. Behind the door was a long white floor.

The heels of her shoes hurt. It was difficult for her to take her balance on them. Nemu tried her best not to fall, but failed.

She twisted her left ankle. She cried quietly and pained out before she fell down to the floor. Her foot hurt, but the pain was nothing against the fear she felt of the punishment of her father.

Did she fail? Would he take her back into the cramped laboratory and kill her there?

"What are you doing there?" Mayuri said angrily.

Nemu was shaking and tried to stand up. But her body disobeyed and she fell back to the ground.

"I told you to stand up!" She was hit straight in her face. She whimpered slightly. "Stand up, useless thing," Mayuri ordered and brought her ruggedly to her feet.

Nemu swayed, but managed to stand safely. Her foot hurt, so did her face, but she didn't dare to complain.

"Come on!" Mayuri hissed to his daughter. "Dare you, if you stumble one more time!"

Frightened, Nemu followed him now paying extra attention to take her balance.

Nemu shivered a bit, but she didn't show it. Any feelings seemed to be weakness to her father and weakness meant failure. Mayuri had forbidden her to fail.

They approached a door. Mayuri went straight towards it and opened it full of verve. Bright light came from the outside. Mayuri went outside and waited for Nemu impatiently. She hurried to quickly come after him.

Warmth went through her when she moved into the sunlight. A light breeze went through the streets. This had to be what is called life. Nemu liked this feeling. She resolved to go outside so many times her father gave her the permission to do so. But she doubted that he would give her the permission to go out when he realised that he does her a favour with this.

"This is Seireitei," Mayuri explained short-spoken. "Shinigami are living here. I am also a Shinigami and I will educate you to be one as well. I am the captain of the twelfth squad and the second president of the Institute of Technology and Development. You will become the lieutenant of the twelfth division and my assistant. I will not tolerate you to fail. Understood?"

"Yes, Mayuri-sama," Nemu nodded submissively.

Not far away, a group of Shinigami was standing. Nemu watched them curiously. The Shinigami seemed to talk to each other and every once a while they looked at Nemu and Mayuri.

Nemu shivered a bit. The glares of these people were different of Mayuris, but as awkward as his. Antipathy, shot through her head. This was antipathy.

Confused she looked at Mayuri, who wasn't paying attention to her, but was talking to a man wearing black clothes. This man, too, was staring at her once in a while, but when their eyes met he quickly looked away. 'Antipathy,' she thought.

She didn't know where the word had come from, but she knew instinctively what it meant.

It meant everyone would avoid her. It meant she wasn't liked. It meant she was different… because Mayuri had created her.

Sadly, she looked to the ground. Antipathy also meant that her existence would not be accepted. Indeed people would tolerate her, but nobody would really like her.

Not even Mayuri seemed to like her really. He looked at her as an useful experiment. He would not look at her as a being, which possessed a soul.

She followed him unresistingly as he moved on. She ignored the glares of the others. She would live. Even if she would never find any respect or sympathy in the eyes of the Shinigami when they looked at her, she would live.

And she would not fail.