Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of the stories or characters portrayed in this fanfic.
Gin was walking along the hall in Los Noches located in Hueco Mundo.
"Another boring day in another boring palace," Gin looked out the window to find, you guessed it sand, sand and more sand. "Maybe I should have stayed in Soul Society at least there I had something to do, like teasing some of the other captains. There's nobody to tease here who will give me some type of reaction, and those who would react have run off and don't come out to play." Gin sighed once again as he approached the front door. He paused upon hearing the gasps and panting of some type of arrancar. Opening the door, he was bowled down by a tiny ex-espada little girl. He looked up to the girl from his current (upside down) position.
"Nel," he smiled up to the little ex-espada, now he had something to do. "You know that Lord Aizen has demanded you to leave this palace never to return." Gin smirked down to the girl as he stood up to his full height. He frowned when she appeared to be looking past him and pointing at something in the sand.
"Bad, bad, bad thing," Nel mumbled continuously pointing and stumbling back away from the entrance, and from whatever scared her.
"You're an ex-espada, Nel. You should not be afraid of anything even if you are a child." Gin chastised the little girl but she continued to point and crawl back until she hit a tall espada.
"What's going on here?" Grimmjow demanded of the tiny ex-espada and the ex-captain at the front door.
"Something has scared her." Gin answered shrugging his shoulders to the espada.
"That's nothing new, a bunny would scare her." Grimmjow complained and kicked her toward the door.
"NO NO NO NO! Bad, bad, bad coming." Nel continued to stammer as she crawled toward the espada.
"There's nothing coming!" Grimmjow growled preparing to kick her again.
"What's this commotion I hear? It is very hard to concentrate with such a ruckus. Grimmjow? Gin?" Aizen walked into the hall at the group standing at the door.
"Nel has gotten scared by something." Gin answered to Aizen.
"What has you scared Nel?" Aizen asked, apparently the other two never thought to consider the little girl's opinion.
"Bad, bad, bad," she cried some more pointing straight ahead.
"Bad is all around you, Nel. I'm afraid you have to be more specific than that." Aizen coaxed the little girl with that frigid smirk on his lips.
"BAD, BAD, BAD STORM!" Nel cried pointing ahead before turning down a hall and running out of sight.
"Bad storm?" Grimmjow questioned as he looked out the front door.
"It's just another sandstorm. Nothing to be afraid of," Gin smirked to the shadow of the child.
"Ichimaru, I don't recall any of our sandstorms being red." Grimmjow noted and Gin actually turned toward the door. All three stared up at the red fog as it advanced at a surprising speed before consuming them all, and a good portion of Los Noches with them.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
"WE'RE UNDERWATER!" Renji screamed flailing about as the surrounding people stared at him.
"Renji calm down." Byakuya ordered his lieutenant, but the poor guy was caught up in full panic mode.
"But, Captain we're underwater and we'll drown." Renji cried surprised that no one else was flailing about.
"Renji, look at your feet." Nanao suggested pointing toward his legs. Renji looked and blinked at what he saw: not legs but a red fish tail, like that of a mermaid or merman as the case may be.
"Oh," Renji blushed a deep red at his mistake. He looked slowly around at who was here as mermaids and mermen. The mermaids included Rangiku, Isane, Nanao (to her annoyance and Shunsui's pleasure), Soi Fon (at least she wasn't tiny), Orihime, and Yurouichi. The females wore sea shell bikinis with varying colors to match their fin and hair. While the mermen wore no shirts (A/N: Byakuya fans squeal here ;)), but also had varying shades of fin color.
"I like this look," Yuroiuchi smiled down as she spun around testing her flexibility.
"You would." Byakuya griped to the woman.
Renji then counted the mermen: Shunsui, Byakuya, himself, Isshin, Shuuhei, and Izuru.
"I wonder what story this is now." Isane looked around the water and admired the Antlantican designs with the pedestals and arches creating a path into a type of open throne room.
"We are still missing quite a lot of people from the previous worlds, and there's no telling who we picked up coming into this world." Byakuya announced to the group and they all nodded their heads in agreement.
"Shall we go see who sits on the throne?" Shunsui commented.
"I'm going to slap him if it is Ukitake one more time." Soi Fon growled in frustration. Now she wasn't angry with him but he had been a king numerous times while she had been embarrassed throughout this entire ordeal.
"We're about to find out." Yurouichi commented as she swam faster than the others seeing as she had adapted to swimming quicker than the others.
"Slow down, this isn't a race." Byakuya commented from the main crowd but he was getting used to the movement.
"That's what you think, Byakuya." Yurouichi smirked before she flitted off down the corridor.
"Not today," Byakuya growled and chased after her using as much speed as he could muster. The other merpeople sped up as they, too, grew accustomed to swimming in the sea. However, swimming in the water and stopping are two different things . . . and they hadn't learned to stop on their own. So it was in such an undignified manner that the king of the merpeople entered the throne room to an unusual sight: Byakuya being crushed by his fellow merpeople with Yurouichi smirking with her hands behind her back enjoying the noble's predicament.
"Brother," Rukia exclaimed to him as she swam down to help him rise. "I'm glad to see you alright." She hugged him and he remained stiff as a statue through her hug, because it would not look decent for a man of his stature to show any type of emotion.
"I am glad to see you safe, Rukia." This was the closest emotion that she ever wrung out of her brother and she would take it.
"Captain Yamamoto you're the king?" Soi Fon blinked up at the head-captain. He was still stronger than the others and he still had his long beard hanging from his chest, and now he held a rather large trident in his right hand.
"Yes, that is correct." He spoke before he turned toward a little crab that swam up to him.
"Head Captain Yamamoto, I must protest this most embarrassing form." The voice that came from the form nearly made Soi Fon laugh. After all, who could be taken seriously as the second in command of all Soul Society, when they resemble a tiny crab with a Jamaican accent? The squeaky voice didn't help Lieutenant Chojiro Sasakibe.
"There is nothing I can do until we leave this blasted world." Yamamoto explained to his lieutenant who grumbled low in his throat as he floated down to the floor.
"Then, it's the same as the other worlds I take it?" Shunsui asked anyone who would answer.
"So it would seem." Yamamoto answered.
"Okay we have to find Karin and Captain Hitsugaya." Rangiku explained looking around the floor and around each pedestal.
"I don't believe you'll find them in this room, Lieutenant Matsumoto, try somewhere outside the castle grounds." Yamamoto suggested motioning with his gold trident toward the outside. She bowed her head and did as he suggested. Nobody could ever guess where Karin and Toushiro were currently located, or at least not where Karin was snooping.
"Karin we need to go back. We're too far out in the open." Jinta, the flounder, complained to his friend.
"Come on Jinta, we're almost there. We're going to find something special I'm sure of it." Karin answered as she dug deeper into the shipwreck that she was currently raiding. She passed a mirror and double backed to admire her reflection. Her fin was a light green but she had a short sleeve blue shirt instead of the seashell bikini like the other mermaids. This didn't bother her because it kept her warmer in the colder waters where she dug for her treasures.
"HAH! Found something." Karin smiled as she found a round object smashed between the mirror and the wall of the ship. With a little effort, she was able to pull the object free for closer inspection: it was round with black and white pentagons making up the surface.
"I wonder what it is." Karin asked her reflection. She tossed the ball in the water and frowned as it sunk to the floor of the ship.
"Maybe Urahara will know." Jinta suggested and Karin beamed back to him.
"You're right, let's go!" Karin grabbed Jinta by his yellow and blue fin as she darted for the surface of the water to ask the seagull she took all of her objects to.
"Hello there Karin," a white and black seagull bowed to his waterlogged guest. This seagull was different because of the green and white hat he constantly wore on his head.
"What do you have to show me today?" Urahara stuck his beak closer to the mermaid as she pulled the ball from out of the water.
"What's this?" Karin showed it to him and he gave off a beaming smile. Of course, she'd find a soccer ball, this is Karin after all. Memory or not she could locate a soccer ball anywhere in the world.
"This is a soccer ball. Humans use it to play a game called Soccer." Urahara answered smiling as Karin's eyes lit up in excitement.
"How do you play this game? Can merpeople play too?" She pulled herself up onto the little rock that Urahara called home.
"Humans kick the ball around a court on dry land, so no Karin, merpeople cannot play this game." Urahara explained and Karin blew her bangs out of her face in disappointment.
"But, the object of the game is to kick the soccer ball into the goal of the opposing team and gain points. The team with the most points wins the game." Urahara finished his explanation to the little mermaid.
"It sounds like such a wonderful game. It's times like these where I wish I could walk on land. Well, I've got to go, Urahara. Bye." Karin waved and dived deep into the water with her soccer ball to store it away with her other treasures.
"We should go get your father. Maybe he's found the other merpeople of the court." Jinta suggested desperately trying to get Karin back into the safety of the palace.
"Okay, let's go home, Jinta." Karin and the yellow and blue striped fish hurried back to their home and Karin hid the soccer ball away from any prying eyes. With her treasure safely tucked away, Karin began to search for her father.
"Father," Karin called swimming into the throne room where the crab, Sasakibe stood trilling his crab legs on the arm of the throne.
"Hello Karin, now where have you-"
"Where have you been? You should have been here hours ago to do your studies." Chojiro exclaimed pointing a red claw toward her. "I have a hard enough time trying to keep your head in the lesson, now I have to try to keep you in the seat to hear the lesson? Karin you have your head in the clouds instead of in your studies which are needed for you to grow into a competent mermaid.
"Chojiro, you interrupted me again." Yamamoto's notice silenced the lieutenant in his shame.
"Now, Karin I would like to know where you have been lately."
"I was out studying the reef and collecting unknown samples."
"Then we took them to the seagull." Jinta got caught up in Karin's excitement.
"Seagull? You went to the surface!" Chojiro jumped to Karin in Yamamoto's place.
"Nothing happened," Karin looked up to him in partial shame.
"Still, you could have been spotted and you could have been captured. For all I could have known, you might have been on some fisherman's plate." Yamamoto rose from his throne in growing anger and Karin pulled away in fear.
"YOU ARE NEVER TO GO TO THE SURFACE AGAIN! DO YOU HEAR ME?" King Yamamoto yelled so loud everyone had to cover their ears.
"Yes sir." Karin nodded.
"Good, now go to your room," Yamamoto ordered pointing in the direction she was to leave.
Karin obeyed but she scowled behind her where the others were talking with her father.
"Chojiro I want you to watch Karin and keep ber out of trouble.
"You can count on me your majesty." Chojiro saluted and swam, propellor style, to Karin's room. On his way, he spotted Karin in the courtyard with a brown bag hiding some round object.
"Oh, no you don't," Chojiro whispered as he followed her in his determination to follow orders.
Karin swam up to a sealed cavern with a boulder to block the entrance. She made sure nobody else was around before she pulled the boulder aside and followed Jinta into the cave. Chojiro dashed inside but one of his legs was caught as the boulder settled again. He finally freed his legs just as Karin started to speak to Jinta.
"I don't know why he hates them so much, Jinta. The people who make such wonderful things can't all be bad." Karin motioned around the cavern that was filled from roof to sea floor with various items from the surface: pictures, mirrors, brushes, forks, knives, spoons, various sporting equipment, and other types of junk. Karin swam up to a ledge that had a painting of a group of kids kicking a ball on a grassy field. She laid her soccer ball next to this painting and stared at it.
"I wonder what it would feel like."
"What Karin?" Jinta swam up to look at the picture.
"The grass and running. I want to know what the sun feels like. When we go to the surface, the water is a little warmer but it quickly cools down before I even realize. So it is only a memory. I want to be up there, Jinta. I want to know what it's like, what humans experience every day." Karin sighed then was started when Chojiro started to scream.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND? YOU CANT LIVE WITH THE HUMANS. IT IS FORBIDDEN FOR SO MANY REASONS. IF YOUR FATHER KNEW ABOUT ALL OF THIS . . ."
"Please, Chojiro don't tell him. I promise to do all my studies and be on time and focus. . ." Karin begged him with her hands folded.
"Very well, but you cant come back here. Now let's go home so you can rest." Chojiro started to lead her away until a shadow blacked out the moons rays.
"What's that?" In her curiosity, Karin swam up to the surface ignoring Chojiro's calls for her return. Breaking through the surface, Karin stared at a large ship with fireworks shooting into the sky as it drifted along the water surface. Her face lit up in excitement as she leapt toward the ship with all of her speed, again ignoring Chojiro and Jinta's warnings for her return. She arrived at the base of the ship.
Karin found a ladder built into the side which she used to pull herself up to the deck so she could watch the humans without being seen.
She gasped at the humans on the ship, easily twenty men and there was no telling how many were below deck. The music coming from the band instruments caught her attention with the appearance of a boy darting around the deck playing with his silver dog. This boy was nothing like what she had seen. This boy had snow white hair sticking up and looked to be a little older than Karin's eleven years.
"Toushiro," a taller man with straight black hair called for the boy. This taller man resembled the pictures she had seen. He had a pair of glasses that needed to be pushed higher on his nose every so often and he strode around with his back straight.
"Toushiro, we need to get back on track."
"Alright Uryu, but you know how much I hate these ceremonies." Toushiro complained while the silver dog followed a scent to the railing. Karin hid behind a plank when the dog approached her. The dog barked when it saw her, calling the attention of the humans.
"Hyourinmaru get back over here." Toushiro commanded and the dog obeyed with a small glance back to Karin's hiding place.
"Now for your birthday present," two men, Ikkaku and Omaeda, pushed a large covered item over in front of Uryu and Toushiro. With great fanfare, Uryu ripped the covering off to reveal a statue of Ichigo, still frozen and still a statue.
"What's this?" Toushiro pointed as Hyourinmaru growled at the figure. The dog then smiled and walked behind the statue to give his opinion.
"It was supposed to be a representation of when you grow older." Uryu explained nudging his glasses higher up his nose.
"I'm flattered that you think I'll grow to be six feet tall, Uryu." Toushiro complemented.
"Too bad, Hyourinmaru disagrees." Ikkaku watched a small puddle collect at the place where Hyourinmaru disappeared.
"Hyourinmaru, that was uncalled for." Toushiro frowned at the dog but it simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Speaking of your age, Toushiro." Uryu began.
"Uryu, you know I hate it when you bring marriage up." Toushuro complaind but Uryu simply shrugged.
"I know but you still need to be looking for a bride and so far you've turned down every girl that you have seen." Uryu pointed out while Toushiro hopped onto the railing just above Karin's hiding place.
"Uryu, I already have an image if the girl I want to marry and I haven't seen her yet."
"So what does she look like?"
"She has short black hair and loves adventure as much as I do." A bolt of lightning ended anymore talk of the matter. The music stopped as all eyes gazed at the black clouds rolling towards the ship.
Karin looked about in confusion as all of the humans started running around shouting various orders to keep the ship intact. The wind picked up and blew Karin back into the water just as the ship caught on fire when a lightning bolt struck it. Karin watched in fear as all of the humans retreated to smaller boats and started to row away from the vessel. Toushiro had to go back to help Hyourinmaru out into another boat but his leg was caught in a hole. When the fire reached gunpowder in the hull, the ship blew up with pieces of flaming boards arcing in all kinds of directions. Karin swam into the middle of the wreckage to see if she could find Toushiro and take him to safety. She spotted him just as he started to sink into the water. Karin quickly grabbed him and started to swim to shore. She was able to take him to a beach where she watched over him until he started to wake up.
"KARIN! So here you are!" Chojiro shouted but gaped at the human boy who lay on the beach.
"He was about to drown, Chojiro. I had to save him." Karin answered before he could start yelling again.
"Well, hello there." Urahara landed on the beach beside the sleeping Toushiro. "What have we here?"
"He was on a ship last night that blew up and I brought him to shore to keep him from drowning." Karin answered again.
"I see," Urahara hopped over to Toushiro and listened to his chest. "It looks like he'll be just fine. He's only sleeping for now." Karin visibly relaxed at this news. Then she continued to stare at him with questions darting in her mind.
"I wonder if he'll tell me . . ." Karin whispered just loud enough for Urahara to hear.
"Tell you what?"
"What it's like to live up here on land. Even now, the sun is so warm and it feels good to be in this heat. I almost don't want to return to the water."
"WHAT!" Chojiro shrieked loud enough to wake Toushiro. Karin perked up and remained perched on her rock but Urahara had different plans since he pushed her into the water before Toushiro rose from the sand.
"What happened?" Toushiro mumbled. Karin watched from behind a rock as he stretched his legs.
"Are you alright?" Toushiro jumped at the voice spinning around to find the one who spoke.
"Who's there?" Toushiro demanded as he continued to look around.
"Please tell me. What's it like?" Karin asked before Chojiro or Urahara could stop her.
"What?" Toushiro asked visibly relaxing at the sound of the voice. Chojiro pinched her skin making her wince in pain but she just had to know.
"What's it like to feel the grass on a warm day?" Toushiro heard the wistful tone in the strange voice.
"Have you never felt grass before?" Toushiro asked as the sound of Hyourinmaru's barking was heard from a distance.
"Where I live, we don't have such a plant." Karin answered but Hyourinmaru and Uryu ran up to Toushiro before he could answer her question.
"Who were you talking to?" Uryu asked the young boy who still looked around the beach.
"I heard this voice and it was beautiful but I can't find the person who spoke." Toushiro answered and Uryu simply shook his head.
"Toushiro, it's not good to hear voices. We need to get you home so you can recover from last night's trouble. I'm so glad that we found you. Come along, Hyourinmaru." Uryu led Toushiro away while Hyourinmaru was too busy barking to the ocean where Karin remained hiding behind a rock.
"That was very close. Karin, I can't believe you could possibly do something this thoughtless and stupid. I know you have more sense than that . . ." Chojiro's prattling was drowned out in Karin's mind.
"He said my voice was beautiful." Karin whispered as she gazed up to the beach and the overhanging rocks.
"Someday I will walk on land. I just have to." Karin whispered as she continued to ignore Chojiro and Urahara who decided to give his opinion on the matter. Nobody noticed two slimy eels peeking up from the water, one had a gold eye and a red eye while the other had a green eye and a gold eye. Their golden eyes transmitted a visual to a crystal globe located in an underwater dark cavern where a particularly evil octopus-man lived.
'If your father, King Yamamoto, hears about this, then he will turn me into crab cakes. So nobody will tell the king. Is this understood?' The voice of the small crab reached the octopus-man's ears and made the man smile a sadistically wicked grin.
"This is very interesting. The girl is the daughter of Yamamoto, and she has a desire to walk on land. Perhaps she can be of use to me." The octopus-man slithered from the hall with his eight tentacles waving on the ocean floor. He stood before the mirror and admired his current form.
"Here I've been trying to take the time and energy to forge a key when there is a much simpler way. I could persuade Yamamoto to give me the key, in exchange for the life of his daughter." Aizen's cruel laughter echoed off the walls and made the chilled water even icier.
"Gin, Grimmjow, come back here because we have much to do while we have the time." Aizen ordered the eels and they both obediently returned.
"You know Grimmjow, I was not expecting to become an eel. But, I must say that I am enjoying this new found flexibility. Don't you agree?" Gin looked over to Grimmjow who only grimaced at this motion.
"No, I want to get back to my own body. Do you think Aizen knows how to get us back?" Grimmjow asked the ex-captain. Gin paid no heed to the espada-eel's complaints while they returned to the cave in silence.
Omake
*Aizen is staring at mirror and glared at his hair.*
Aizen: Stay down! *Tentacles move over head to smooth hair.* There, it looks . . .
*hair floats from roots.*
Aizen: LIKE SEAWEED! *Looking through bottles on vanity*
There's got to be something here. *Looks to mud and frowns then back up to hair and glares.*
It's worth a try.
*Gin and Grimmjow swim into the cavern where they find Aizen combing mud into his hair.*
Grimmjow: What's he doing? *Whisper to Gin.*
Gin: Aizen has always been particular about his hair. When he thinks nobody is looking, he smears gel all over his hair to keep it looking perfect all day long.
Grimmjow: Who knew Aizen was so vain?
Aizen: AAAHHHH! WHY DON'T YOU STAY IN ONE PLACE? *Mud caked in hair and growls at mirror.*
Aizen: Now I've got to get this out before anyone sees me.
Gin: Hey, Grimmjow, do you want to do something fun?
Grimmjow: Like what? *Gin whispers in the eel's ear and Grimmjow smiles in agreement.*
Aizen: I'll find some way to keep you in one place, Hair! You can count on that!
***On a continent far away from Japan***
*Raven leans on wall at door. Beast Boy still throwing all types of objects/living creatures from his closet.*
Raven: Are you almost done yet?
Beast Boy: I'm getting closer. I can feel it. *Raven looks to end table with a book.*
Raven: I never knew that Beast Boy read books. *Opens book and sees small receipt.*
Raven: Beast Boy, did you start to read a book when you sold my spell book over the internet?
Beast Boy: Yeah, come to think of it I did. Why? *Raven pulls receipt from inside of book.*
Beast Boy: Oh, that's where it was.
Raven: Always in the last place you look.
A/N: Here is the first part of The Little Mermaid. I love this movie and I just might do a full parody of the movie. I just couldn't pick and choose what I wanted to keep and what to ignore. Besides, a few songs popped into my head that would be so much fun to write. Oh well, I'll finish this and another open story before I start on the parody. Let me know what you think of this chapter. I love all of the suggestions that I've been given. If you have anymore then I'm open to putting them in this story.