Antiquated Notions
Mayuri & Nemu

I suppose he would never win the father of the year award. Kurotsuchi-taicho is an overbearing jerk on the best of days and a sadistic slave driver most of the time. He's scary, and I don't think that it's on purpose. He is a genius of the true 'mad' variety. Nevertheless, he is my taicho and his daughter is my fukutaicho. Who am I? I'm the third seat, Akon, and I've known these two for a very long time.

I was in the lab the day that Kurotsuchi decided that he wanted progeny. Almost everyone else recoiled, but I thoughtfully looked at the new gigai design I was working on and told him that I thought he could make it happen with a mod soul. He glowered at me, and remarked that he was sure that was the only way I could have children. I merely shrugged, and continued working.

A few days later found me working on the same gigai. I had been trying to make it so that the soul wearing the thing wouldn't have to stuff themselves with pills to wear it long term. I am still angry to have found out that Urahara figured it out decades ago. Moving on - as I was saying, I was working in the gigai lab, when Kurotsuchi found me.

"Having any luck with that?"

I was surprised for a moment; he had told me three days ago he didn't care if every person in the Seireitei got hair loss because of the soma fixing pills. "Yes, sir, I think that if you tweak…"

"I didn't ask for a report!" he snapped and I closed my mouth. He touched the body laying on my worktable. "Do you really think that you could make a living person out of one of those?"

I nodded uncertainly, "As long as I could get a soul to modify. Although, you know that's not exactly legal anymore."

"Making an heir the usual way is just so," he paused, throwing his hands about, looking for the right word, "antiquated. I like the idea of having the perfect vessel to carry on my legacy."

Inwardly, I was grinning like a lunatic. Outwardly, I frowned, "Sir, I know what I said, but…"

Kurotsuchi ran his long fingernail over my mouth, stopping my argument, "I will get you the soul. We have some of the old Mod souls in storage. Put away against future need, you understand. I hate to scrap all of my hard work."

"It would not have a zanpakuto spirit, there's no way to manufacture that."

"Not important. They're a pain in the ass, I'm forever punishing mine, and it never learns," he said, running long fingers though the thatch of blue hair that stood in a shock on his head.

"I wouldn't know, sir." I stood still, like an antelope near a lion that might just let it live.

He ran his hands over the gigai once again, "It makes no difference, I said. I want it to be a part of me, Akon."

"Of course sir. I can use your downloaded files and build similar likes and dislikes, some personality that you may find useful. Industriousness, obedience, intelligence, things like that."

"Not a clone, yes? I don't want to have to punish myself, and I would."

He certainly would. If he caught any of us doing what he did on a near daily basis, we'd have to re-grow some organs. "No sir, not a clone. Do you have a preference on male or female?"

"Female," was his immediate reply, though his reasoning made me wince, "it would be nice to have a woman around who had some actual intelligence and a head for science."

I looked down on the gigai I had been working on; all gigai started out sexless. That is the charm of the faux body, as you stepped into it, it would match your spirit body exactly. I prodded it with a smile. It wouldn't take long to make it female. Some fat here…oh you don't need that part; let's get on to the day I finished with Nemu.

It had taken slightly more than a month to get everything ready. I grew all of her internal organs, built stores inside her body that Kurotsuchi could use if he needed or wanted to, and made her the perfect woman in my eyes. She would be just a little shorter than her father. I made her eyes a deep forest green, a little fantasy of mine. Kurotsuchi insisted on black hair, but I made it with plum undertones. She was in all respects perfect.

That was until I uploaded the personality markers and instincts that her 'father' had insisted on. Secretly, I added some human decency to the mix, since Kurotsuchi did not have any. She could be kind, if the situation called for it. She would tear you apart on her father's orders. She was made to be obedient to him, with many layers of fail safes built in to insure her loyalty.

Kurotsuchi checked my work on her neural paths, and the program I had built that would turn this cobbled gigai and mod soul into a thinking being. Finding it to be 'acceptable' the scientist began the process that would bring life to the body. The blood synthesized from Kurotsuchi's own body was being warmed and pumped into her waiting body. Her oh-so-pale skin began to flush with blood.

A simple external pacemaker started her heart and kept it beating in lieu of the brain's as yet missing signals. As soon as that was complete, I turned on her respirator, and soon her chest was raising and falling in a good approximation of life. I gave the 'go ahead' signal to Kurotsuchi, and he started the transfer. All of my meticulous work to even come close to the perfection that is the brain would be put to the test.

Her empty soul was filled up with the million and one things that our bodies must regulate each day. Her personality, preferences, and the knowledge she would need to excel at almost any task put before her here in the division poured out into that blankness. I put in everything I could think of, and I tried to include a healthy curiosity, so that she'd learn about more than the confines of the lab.

"Take her off the life support," Kurotsuchi barked, "if she lives or not it's got to be up to her now."

I did as he asked, and turned back to see her gasp and shake. Her fingers clenched and loosened as her skin twitched all over. The heart monitor showed her heart beat rise and fall to finally level out. "Come on, Nemu," I cheered for the creation lying on the table, "open your eyes, girl."

"What did you call her?"

I looked at my crazy taicho, "Nemu; I talked to it in production, and the name sort-of stuck."

The man grabbed her chin, "Nemu are you? That's fine." He stroked her face tenderly and frowned, "Wake up, daughter."

When her eyes opened and they turned with a knowing gaze on her 'father', I was so happy. It had worked; all of our hard work had brought about a being. Whether she actually turned into something or not would be up to us as much as her. I had a fleeting moment of wondering if this is what it was like to be a real father. I looked at Kurotsuchi and his tender seeming gaze; I realized that life, no matter how it's made, is precious.

AN/ I totally see that I made this more about Akon than Mayuri. Probably because I'm much more comfy with the horned researcher. I did try to show that Mayuri cared, and there might have been a time when he was happy with his creation. Hasty did a lovely job yet again! *bows*