Ngoc Chau does not own Bleach
There is still one more chapter after this! There is still one more chapter after this! I repeat: there is still one more chapter after!
This fanfic is not completed. This fanfic is not complete. This fanfic is not complete!
To note, almost fifty years have passed or so since the last chapter.
It was as though his senses had become numb.
When she left, the light of the world left as well. Mayuri sat down while all others stood, his captain's will was being read out loud. He did not want to think of her death for there was nothing he could do now; her reishi was now part of the Soul Society and her soul had left their plane. But he was thankful at least that her death was not because she wanted to protect him from Hollows.
She had died because of some strange misfortune, not because of him. Though the thought of her gone from him ate him alive, he was relieved at least that it was not his fault that she had died.
His thoughts of his captain's death disappeared from his mind as he heard his name.
Everything was to be left to him as she had discussed with him when she was still with them; he was to be the Captain of the Twelfth and the SDRI with nothing inaccessible to him. Not only was his 'father's' possessions going to him, but his captain's. Although sympathetic for his loss, he received some congratulations for the sudden increase of fortune and materials.
The reading went by very quickly, a new order of ranks was given out and rather miscellaneous last wishes. It was all old news to him. He knew what would be bequeathed to him, but he had never imagined that it would come so soon. He thought he would be two hundred then - five hundred even, not a youthful hundred.
As everyone was exiting, all of them telling him that his captain would be sorely missed and that she was very remarkable, the will reader approached him with a letter. "Your captain left this to you. If it's anything like I remember…" his voice trailed off, but Mayuri did not feel like questioning him though the curiosity did poke at him.
He was left alone in the receiving room of the SDRI. The sounds of tearing paper and unfolded corners echoed in the room, or perhaps it was attuned more acutely to his ears. The letter began: "I am so sorry to have failed you."
He closed his eyes for a second, and found his head to be spinning. He continued reading the letter, short that it was. It described how proud she was of him, how sad she was to know that she could not live out her existence accordingly with him. He did not like to read much of it because what compliments she gave him now was meaningless and he did not like to be reminded even more of de-th. The letter took a different turn. "There is something I have left for you that I would like for you to take under your wing. It is your decision and I do not want you to be inconvenienced. There is a lab beneath my office on level 7-E. Your voice is all that is needed to open the door to the lab." There were more instructions to find the lab in her office and he thought it tedious.
The letter ended with a cryptic message of: "Please find me."
He was interested and he wanted to know what else his captain had left him. Well, they already called him heartless; but he mourned her the way he felt that he should mourn her. She was his captain, his mother, his sister, his other self… How he felt for her and how he coped with her death was his own business.
Mayuri found the lab almost instantly that night and it was better maintained than he had expected. Not a single speck of dust. He pondered how many hours his captain had spent in the hidden room when he was always by her side till the very end. There was a sole metal slab where the subject would've been strapped to. All the walls were lined with monitors and computers. A shelf of tools and other ornaments meant for their work rested in some far off corner. His golden eyes caught a glimpse of illumination at the front of the lab. At the very front of the room was a series of cylindrical tanks, all of them appeared to be meant to house creatures of great size, particularly human size. But not all of them were empty.
He approached it and if he did not have such excellent control over himself, he would've gasped in surprise. He recognized the sleeping face in the tank to be his captain's, but it was not his captain that he was looking at. He knew it for certain. Was this what his captain had left to him? He knew his own origins and he could only laugh at the parallel fates that Kurotsuchi spawns were born for.
But what would he do? He knew it himself that he did not yet look old and he was in the prime of his life, still youthful compared to other shinigami. Would he take her home and raise her as his captain had raised him? It was almost inexplicable that he should already feel drawn to the being in the tank and should already want her. He did not even know what he was thinking, but before he could already process what was going on through his head, what decisions he was making; he had already began draining the tank that housed the comatose being.
He was not so unfamiliar to a female's body that he should faint from shyness at the sight of them, but there was something about this girl's body that attracted his eyes to constantly look her over. He was not abashed by the realization, but he knew what it might look like to other eyes. It was not that he cared about opinions, it was that he was in no mood to put up with any more talk about him and he did not want anyone else to see this girl, this copy of his captain, without clothing. As he removed her from the tank that had housed her, he wrapped her up in his white lab coat and carried her towards his quarters. He was very aware of how light she was that he had no trouble carrying her and how thin she felt. The girl hardly felt suitable to be fighting Hollows.
She did not even stir in his arms as he carried her away.
Unlike other divisions, including the Eleventh's, the Twelfth's first and second seats always shared quarters together. He was not so sure whether he should stay in his own quarters or advance into the Captain's quarters. He was comfortable with his lodging and there was not much difference to the rooms save for alternating windows. He dressed her unconscious form in one of his clothes that had fit him when he was much younger. He left the girl asleep in his bed, feeling that it was too soon to install her into his captain's room, to look over journals that his captain had left to him.
He was not at all interested to read about what she had thought of certain people or even what she had thought about him. He looked to her journals for reference as he was now the charge of a young child as his captain was for him. Like anybody else, he did not recall his 'childhood' so easily and always depended on records and files to know what had transpired in and out of that hazy phase of his life. He recalled being familiar with the Gotei 13 before he was in the Academy and only upon graduating was he returned to a place he knew as his first memories. He wanted to know how long it had taken him to grow out of his 'stupid' phase from emerging out of the tank to what he liked to think of as his 'growing' phase. It was not that he wasn't diligent, but he did not feel that he had any fatherly instincts in him. Even now, he was thinking of the girl in his room as a chore. Would he have to raise her himself? Could he possibly give her to another and have them raise her in his stead until she came of a good proper age where she could be useful to him?
He did not want to rid himself of her for good for in her, he saw his captain. Had she felt the same as he was now? Suddenly being burdened with a child? But then again, she wanted him, wanted a child of that man's.
He had not even considered the possibility of children, so used he was to monopolizing his captain's attentions when he wanted it.
He flipped through the meagre journals. They recounted a sort of depression that his captain had fallen into since the loss of that man and Mayuri could only point out that he was handling his grief better than she had; he was not so desperate for suicide. She had been ecstatic when she received him, found him. She noted that he was soon ready and willing to learn one month since she had found him. He hoped that the same interval of time would apply to the girl in his room.
There enclosed in the pages were more letters penned by that same man, indicated by the name that was signed at the end of the papers, and they were instructions how to care for him. Would he receive letters to care for the girl or would she leave it up to him? It was one thing if he was expected to raise a son, but how would a man know to raise a daughter?
A voice pointed out that the Eleventh Division Captain had managed to do so.
But a secondary voice pointed out how battle-crazy she was.
Yes, that was not a good example. He supposed he would have to look further back, research and read about how that man had raised his captain and then apply it to the girl.
He thought this all to be very petty. He felt that he was not inclined to teach another being the basics and facts of life. It would be so much easier if his captain was still with him! There came a knock at the door, he got up to answer. He opened the door and was ready to slam it in Unohana's face when he saw her. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.
She did not smile her usual smile but she took a step closer, not wanting him to close the door so soon. "They asked me to see you about the Captain Proficiency Test. It is well known that you already know how to use your Bankai, but a test is still in order, particularly since your captain has named you her successor."
"Thank you." he told her, "I'll see to it tomorrow."
"Yes, come by the first division barracks tomorrow to see the Soutaicho and he and I and another captain will be there for the test."
He thanked her again and was about to close the door when she stopped him and opened it a little bit wider. "I wanted to see you. I heard that you were still sad about your captain and I hoped that I could cheer you up."
He noticed that she was not wearing her captain's haori or her shihakusho but opted to wear a light violet kosode. Her hair was left untangled. She was dressed to allure, he realized. "My captain has just died. I would like to be left alone right now."
He tried to close the door but her strength prevented him. "That did not stop you last night." she reminded him.
He gave a huff, told her that it was getting late and she wasn't thinking straight. A captain's death was always something that distracted everybody, made them do things they would not do if they were lucid. Goodnight.
She stepped back and he closed the door, locked the latch for proper measure though he knew that locked doors could never stop anybody in this place. He returned to his reading to know what else could be done about the sleeping girl. A little while, the sound of pattering footsteps pulled him out of his reading and he looked up.
The girl was awake, her green eyes focused on him. It would be a cliché to say that he saw the ghost of his captain in her, and he didn't. He saw what his captain was not: child-like, naïve, ingénue. But perhaps with time and lessons, with him as her teacher; the possibilities were vast… Strange that he did not spend so much time looking at her when he first saw her floating in the tank in the labs, he was far too distracted by the fact that fate likes to play tricks on him.
He was given the chance to closer inspect and observe her. He was uncomfortable at looking at someone different who looked the same. But she was not unappealing to the eyes and found her to be delightful to look at: feeling both comforted at the familiarity of her gaze and disturbed at the resemblance. Her hair was attractively long, and from what he could see, it reached beyond her waist. It was cut very straight and reminded him of wood carvings of ancient Japanese princesses: the straight fringe of the bangs over the forehead, the locks that framed the face. He was quite tempted to run his fingers through her tresses. Her face looked young, unlike his captain's. But of course she was young. And her skin was the same blinding white as his captain's had been. He wondered if he were to touch her, would she feel just like her.
"What is it?" he asked her.
She looked at him and then her green eyes looked elsewhere and down at her bare feet. He heard a distinct growl from her and burst out laughing.
"Oh! You're hungry? Fine." He got up and walked to the kitchen, she followed closely behind him. She grabbed the sleeve of his shihakusho and he did not push her away. He observed that she was older than he had been when he was 'born', for she almost reached him chest level at standing height.
She stood nervously in his white hiyoku in a corner of the kitchen as he pulled out leftovers from the other night from the fridge. He served it to her cold, wanting her to eat as quickly as possible so that he could get back to his reading on how to take care of her. As he set the food out for her, she only stared at it. He was about to remark on the level of her intelligence when he recalled how stupid he had been too. With exasperation, he told her to sit and he spoon fed her himself. What was it about the presence of a ward that as he fed her like she was a baby, he found himself feeling sorry for her and wanting to take care of her. He had the sudden thought that without him around, she would not be able to survive. And another thought came whether she had his captain's abilities and properties…. He waved the thought away, she was only a child after all. There was no need to think of dirty thoughts yet.
Once she was fed, he asked her if she needed something else. She looked at him blankly. Mayuri breathed out loud. He didn't have to do this, but he did not want to wake up soaked because the girl could not control her bladder throughout the course of the night. Sorry though he was for her, he hoped that he would not have to necessarily baby her for much longer than a month. After a month, he would expect her to be on her own.
He took her to the bathroom and made sure she used its facilities. He washed her face and her hands afterwards and led her back to his rooms.
He felt no brashness to sharing a bed with her. It would be chaste after all. She was hesitant to get under the same covers with him until he pointed out that he was not going to sleep on the floor and unless she preferred wood to him, then be his guest. She chose the latter and slid in close by him. He turned to face opposite her and moved to the edge of the bed. The night air was quiet and peaceful. He felt as though he was ready to wake up from a bad dream he had no desire for. The her warm breath on the back of his neck incited shivers in him and he turned around, ready to tell her to stop breathing like that. But the sight of her wet eyes melted him. He felt alone, but he knew it was not from him he was feeling it. He saw himself through her eyes and felt all the more sorry for her. Certainly not capitulating to girlish moods but not being cruel, he allowed her to rest her head beneath his neck. Her arms wrapped around his neck and they were so close that he could feel the pounding of her heart against his chest and hear the rush in her ears. Her hair was soft and silky.
And he felt that to be the right thing to do for the wetness on her cheeks dried quickly.
The next morning as he woke up, he was greeted by the sounds of clattering pans.
When he got up, he realized that he had not changed, nor washed, nor even removed the small cones from his ears before going to sleep. The habit was no so particularly bad, but it was always a hassle for him to remove his paints and reapply them after sleep. He would reapply his paints and freshen himself up after he investigated the noise. He straightened out his dishevelled shihakusho and grabbed a new lab coat from his closet.
Upon reaching the source of the noise which was in the kitchen, he was surprised to see the girl at the stove. He did not want to seem to eager in approaching her and so came slowly behind her. She was still wearing his hiyoku. He supposed that he would have to find her some clothes later today. He watched her work by herself at the kitchen counter and the stove. Finally when she felt satisfied with her work, she placed all of what she needed onto a tray and presented it to him modestly.
As she bowed her head forward, her long black hair fell over her shoulder. His attention was diverted to the pooling locks in front of her.
"Tea, sir." she said to him. Her voice was delightful to the ears, reminiscent of the sound of a flute and there was a childish lisp to her words. He found it quite endearing and suiting with such an innocent expression on her face. He was surprised that she could already make tea. He felt jealous that while he had been stupid for a month, it had only been a day and she was already speaking and making tea. She poured him a cup from the pot and held it out to him. He eyed it cautiously and told her to drink it first. She did just that. He waited a few minutes, wanting to see any sort of reaction from her. There was none yet he still ordered her to take another sip. She did so. A few more times later until the cup was empty, he had her pour him another cup and drank the tea she made. It was very bland, almost like hot water albeit he saw plentiful of tea leaves at the bottom of his cup. Well, he could not ask for everything right away, he knew that.
"How do you know how to make tea?" he started.
She seemed to struggle with her answer because after a long period of time, she finally spat out one word, "Because."
"So you just know how to make tea?"
"Yes, sir." she answered. And he imagined that she was still too 'young' to say anything more than two words.
He set the cup down and pushed it away from him, and asked her for her name.
She shook her head, "No name."
He raised a non-existent brow. "Do you want a name?"
She nodded her head, "Yes, sir."
He moved close to her, placing his hand firmly on the top of her head. "Your name is Kurotsuchi Nemu. I'm giving you my name: Kurotsuchi Mayuri."
She nodded her head, "Yes, sir."
He removed his hand. "Can you clean up?"
She nodded her head eagerly, keeping her eyes glued to the ground, "Yes, sir."
He left to take a quick shower and reapply his paint before work. Then when he returned, he was surprised to find that she had indeed cleaned up well and was standing obediently in the center of the room for him. Nemu, as he thought of her now, seemed smart. Even if she didn't make good tea, he thought she seemed able-minded enough to do little things. It might be a bad choice, but it appeared better than leaving her here and chancing her burning the whole place down. He knew the labs first before he knew the Seireitei. Why not introduce it early to her too? Very well, he would bring her with him to keep a close eye on her. He told her to wait for him as he went to get her some clothes. He returned almost immediately with the shihakusho he had wore before entering the Academy, he hoped that it would fit her.
He handed it to her and told her to change into it. But she only stood meekly before him. One step at a time, he had to remind himself.
"You don't know how to change, do you?" he asked passively.
She shook her head, "No, sir."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Take off the robe you're wearing now."
Without hesitation, Nemu loosened the garment off of her frame and peeled it off of her. "Yes, sir." Her physique was that of a young adolescent between the ages of twelve and fifteen, the breasts nothing more than tiny puffs and her hips' width hardly different from that of her chest. The arms long and toned that it did not look like a child's arms. Her legs were long and slender, the proportions making her look tall when she was not. Her breath grew heavier as he laid his hands upon her limbs, upon her form. Every inch of her was firm, not a hint of fat save for budding womanly endowments. He liked the feel of her skin under his palms.
"What's the matter? Am I hurting you?" he asked.
She shook her head, "No, sir."
"Then stop making that noise. I don't know what you're trying to do, but now's not the time for it."
He saw the inception of his touch, how her eyes followed wherever his hands went. Even when he was not touching her, she watched him closely. He smelt the warmth on her, it reminded him of his captain and he bit the inside of his cheek. He carefully dressed her, feeling unembarrassed at keeping his eyes on her body. Hardly a thing should excite him or entice him, yet he could not tear himself away until virtually every inch of her was covered by black. Mayuri imagined himself to be appear like a child molester and mentally laughed at the thought.
He went to brush her hair, making sure that there were no tangles in it. As he pulled at her hair with his fingers, he noticed something very distinct on the back of her neck. It was just like his captain's except hers read, Experiment 9. He recalled that his captain had often kept it covered by a ribbon, he would find her one later today, just not now.
As he tightened the wide white obi around her waist, he told her, "You're my daughter now, do you understand me? You are not to do anything that could embarrass me. If you do, you will be punished."
She nodded her head, "Yes, sir."
Though his face was distant and he was in quite a mood, he did not reject Nemu as she sought his hand. Her grip was hot and tight. His fingers wrapped around hers and he led her to the SDRI, his thoughts running miles on what he might teach her in the time to come to someday take up his mantle.
And he felt her potential, as both of them walked in the vanishing shadows of the two who had laid down their fates for them, and so on.
It's still one chapter away from being finished! One more chapter!
Now both of them are clones!
So... Mayuri looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Nemu looks to be... yeah... between twelve and fifteen. Playing to the fetishes now!
Okay, the reason why Nemu is already so advanced is because the Nemu before programmed her to be that way. That her brain flows would be faster than others and plus, scientists seem to be the sort to always make improvements instead of always sticking with old designs. They always see to improve. Also, Nemu knew that she would someday die like her creator did and wanted that even after her death, Mayuri would not be inconvenienced by anything and that she would still help him one way or another. So Nemu made another Nemu to be smart because she knew to not trobule Mayuri with teaching another person. So while... Nemu would be the mother, Mayuri would only be the provider...
So, what did you think
Next chapter is the last chapter! Stay tuned!