I'M SORRY! THIS UPDATE IS WAY OVERDUE(like most of my library books...-_-)! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!
Now that school is back in session, I'll update more often! I swear!
Disclaimers: I don't own Bleach.
Enjoy!
Nemu shifted uneasily on her feet. She wished she could turn around but resisted the impulse; she didn't want to look like a fool. But...something is the air had changed. A tad staler, a smidge more sour. Nemu felt a tug in her brain, a memory wanting to be remembered.
But can I afford to...? Nemu worried. If I miss my cue...
"Love should have no other desire but to fulfill itself. But if your love and needs must have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; and to bleed willingly and joyfully," the minister was saying. "To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; to rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy; to return home at eventide with gratitude; then to sleep with a vision of the beloved in your heart and a song of love on your lips. Blah blah bloo bleep..."
It will be awhile longer, Nemu thought to herself, then willed herself to fall back into the memory.
"Mayuri-sa...Mayuri-tou?"
Nemu stood next to her Captain Kurotsuchi. It was just before dawn, the Captain of the Twelfth Division was in the process of putting on his morning
make-up. He glared up at her, pausing for a moment.
"Stupid girl," he muttered irritably, resuming to apply his make-up. "What is with this 'tou' business? I've told you to address me as Mayuri-sama, and you'd do best to remember it, or so help me I'll beat you until you can't tell left from right!"
Nemu flinched, then continued. "I apologize, Mayuri-sama." Tou. "I have news."
"Hmmph," Mayuri snorted. "As if anything you told me could be considered 'news'."
Nemu was silent. Mayuri squinted at her. "Well, stupid girl, spit it -"
"I am getting married."
Captain Kurotsuchi didn't show any sign of surprise, or shock, or anger. "I've told you that joking gets you nowhere in life, Nemu," he said exasperatedly.
"It is not a joke," Nemu said more confidently. "It is not a lie. I am getting married, Mayuri-tou."
The scientist's eyes narrowed. "Alright. I'll play you're game." He spun around in his chair. "And to whom exactly are you getting married?"
"Uryu Ishida."
A hand cracked across Nemu's face before she knew what was happening. Falling silently to the floor, she tried to stop the tears welling up in her eyes.
"NEMU!" Mayuri screeched. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? YOU CANNOT GET MARRIED TO ANYONE! ESPECIALLY NOT THAT CONNIVING, FOUR-EYED, BASTARD QUINCY!"
"Don't talk about Uryu like that!" Nemu shouted back, jumping off the floor with the agility of a cat. "And you can't stop me! We're going to have a wedding, and I'm going to wear a white dress, and I have a ring and that makes it final!" She pulled off her ring and waved it in front of his nose for effect. Putting it back on her finger, Nemu continued her rant. "You've treated me like garbage my entire life, and I DON'T GIVE A DAMN to what you say even if you are my father!"
Nemu nimbly dodged Mayuri's second strike, and shunpo-ed to the door.
"You can't control me anymore!" she yelled, tears in her eyes before shunpo-ing out the door.
"Nemu! Get back here right now! NEMU!"
"I do," Uryu said.
"And do you, Nemu Kurotsuchi, take Uryu Ishida to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the minister asked. Nemu blinked, they were on the vows already?
"I do," she said, a lump in her throat. Tears came to her eyes, though she wasn't sure if they were from the heartbreaking memory or the joy of finally being married to Uryu.
"You may kiss the bride," the minister said.
Nemu felt herself being swept off her feet; Uryu's lips pressed firmly against hers. Putting her arms around his neck, she passionately kissed him back, a hot fire warming her heart. They audience clapped, and out of the corner of her eye, Nemu saw Nanao start to cry.
This is the happiest day of my life, Nemu thought to herself.
In the back of the room, one person had refrained from clapping. He merely stood rigid against the wall, gold eyes glinting, and slowly glazing over. Lost in his own memories...
And done! Let's see, I'm thinking of making the next chapter Mayuri's memories. Also, apologies if the ending seemed a tad cliché. Or, you know, extremely cliché.
Don't forget to review!