Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ No Such Thing As Never Too Late ❯ Chapter Two ( Chapter 2 )

The days passed with excruciating slowness for Keiko, yet she was blessed to look back on years that seemed to fly by when they had finally finished. Her grandchildren, of which there were three, were perfect and beautiful. Her only grandson, Yuki, already nearing seven, was a miniature of his father. The two granddaughters were beautiful like their mother, and grandmother, Hayaki pointed out.
Despite her missing Mayuri every day, her life she had to admit, was not all bad. The valley was peaceful and her son had no need to demonstrate the skills he had been taught by the Shinigami. But even remote as their little valley was, as peaceful as its inhabitants were, nothing good lasted forever. As Mayuri had left and taken her love with him, so would the peace and happiness of the valley leave as well.
The village was taken by surprise. A band of a larger, sweeping army descended upon them in the middle of the night, leaving only the fastest of the warriors among them to take up their arms and defend their homes. Hayaki was among the first to both take up arms, and fall. Despite all of his training, and his considerable skill with a blade, not even he could hold back an army. The enemy realized very quickly what trouble this one would give them and took care of him immediately.
It was her grandson, wise beyond his years and somehow able to keep his composure amid the blood and screams, who brought her the news. He’d managed to sneak from his own house to hers, a considerable distance. Yuki woke her frantically, looking over his shoulder. The light that flickered through her windows was all wrong. Orange and intense. Despite the fact that her house sat a ways away from the main village, it was bright enough to illuminate the child beside her. His pants were splattered with blood. Unusual voids suggested that perhaps someone had been standing in front of him, shielding him.
“Yuki!” She gasped. “What happened?”
She got no response from the terrified boy. He tried to speak, but his sobs made it nearly impossible to breathe let alone form a sentence. The bang of someone slamming aside the door instantly silenced him. It was probably that reaction that had kept him alive thus far. He buried his face against her chest and gripped her kimono so tightly she felt it might rip in his little fingers.
A terrible feeling told her that the blood on her grandson’s clothes belonged to his family and that her person breaking into her house was partly responsible for it.
“Where are you, you little rat?” A deep voice bellowed. She didn’t know if it actually shook the walls, but her mind told her it did. Perhaps it was her own body shaking. She swooped the boy up into her arms and kicking off the blankets, jumped up out of the bed.
The two, the only left of Keiko and Mayuri’s family, escaped into the forest together. Like the back of her hand, she knew the exact spot where Mayuri had left her. It was not far from the village and she could still hear the cries of women and children, the shouts of outrage from dying men. She could even hear the cracklings of fires that destroyed people’s lives. The orange glow so bright in the night that it illuminated them even that far into the forest, casting flickering shadows in front of them.
Keiko sank to her knees, holding her shivering grandson to her tightly. “Mayuri,” She whispered, her emotions so deep with terror and need that she was sure her prayer would be answered. “We need you. Please, do not leave us. We need you so badly right now. Do not leave us to this terror. Don’t leave me..” She whispered.
The approach of foot steps behind her brought a fresh wave of terror. Yuki whimpered and held tighter to her, furthering her own fears. She beat them down, needing to be strong for the boy. Mayuri will come, Mayuri will come, Mayuri will come….over and over the litany was repeated until it was all that remained in her mind.
Mayuri will come…

The days for Mayuri were spent immersing himself so deeply into his work that it defined him. Even when worried friends would point it out, he would just bury himself deeper into his work to avoid the stress of disappointing those who cared about him. He had become a creature of habit. Sleep, eat, work, train and begin it all again the next day. There was no room for fun or friends. It was as if he was imposing some self punishment and for something he had no control over to begin with.
When word reached him that there may be a one or two man group going to the living world to dispatch a hollow that had been causing a particular amount of trouble, Mayuri of course jumped for the opportunity. It was the most passionate anyone had seen him in years. He left his work and went over the heads of superiors in a desperate attempt to visit Keiko before her death would make it next to impossible to meet with her ever again.
Those alienated few who might still call themselves his friends were relieved to see a smile on his face when he was given permission to join two newly stationed Shinigami to the living realm. He would go to supervise and aid them if they needed help dispatching the Hollow. They had no idea that the trip would be more than a normal dispatching, that they would be taking a detour at all.
The day of departure had Mayuri pacing nervously in front of the Senkai gate nearly a full two hours before the two to join him had even begun to prepare for their trip. He shot both of them icy glares when they finally arrived, both early, as if they were incredibly late.
“I would think that the two of you would be excited to go to the living world for the first time. I’d have thought you would be a little more prompt then this. Very disappointing.” He told them, looking from one to the other.
“Sir, we’re both here before the scheduled departure time, well before. Were we misinformed on that time?”
“Quiet!” He barked, abruptly turning his back on them, clearly too annoyed to give them the courtesy of face to face conversation. “Let’s just leave. We have much to accomplish and little time to do it in.”
The two recruits glanced at each other uneasily. This clearly would not be a man who would be easy to deal with. He was going to make them earn every little bit of respect, if there was indeed any to be earned.
Outside, the man seemed harsh and unyielding. Yet, inside, he was filled with joy and hope. The idea of seeing Keiko again excited him a great deal. It had been the waiting to do so that made him irritable and unapproachable.
The travel through the Senkai gate was a fairly normal one. The only surprise lay in the destination. The scene that greeted the two younger shinigami was a surprise from the expected. They should have been in a rather well populated town, one that would in a few decades surely grow into a bustling city. Instead, there was nothing but forest around them. There shouldn’t have even been a forest here. Just a coast and a town.
“Sir, I think perhaps a mistake was made.” One spoke up. The older of the two. His light blond hair had spikes of shadow thrown over it, darkening the tone slightly. What was his name? Damn, he didn’t have time to remember that sort of thing. This would probably be the only time he would ever work with them in his entire life.
“No. I don’t particularly like the implication that I have made some sort of error.” He said shortly, his patience growing ever thinner with these two.
He made his way through the trees that grew a little heavier than he remembered. Scorch marks marred some of the older trees, the stronger ones. All the rest was new growth and it was thick. Couldn’t have been there for more than ten years though.
Even more shocking was the state of the village. The well kept roads and paths were now in a perpetual state of mud. Houses were falling apart at the seams. Every deformity imaginable was visible in at least one of them. Sagging roofs, broken hinged shutters, cracked doors, even torn paper windows.
Rats and children alike scampered through the roads and around the decrepit houses. He recognized none of the young ones, either directly or through similarities to parents. None of the faces that they passed or saw through windows looked familiar either. No adult or child could be recognized.
He knew his Keiko would see him where these mortals just looked through him. She had always, as her son had been able to as well, see him when he was out of his gigai.
Because the house sat out of the way, it wasn’t until he was nearly on top of the pile of rotten ashes that he saw what had happened. Burned to the ground entirely. Every beam, plank of flooring and shingle.
“Sir,” One of the Shinigami interrupted his silent shock. “We scouted the town out. It looks like an army town. There are tents with more women and children. Stockpiles of weapons and goods. But no men of fighting age anywhere.” He explained. His voice was flat and strong, a simple statement of facts.
“This isn’t an army town.” Mayuri stated coldly.
“It is now, Sir. They haven’t been here long. Just a few years. One or two, maybe.”
“And the people who lived here before?” He asked, wanting the man’s theory. If he had determined this much, perhaps he knew the pattern. Though, Mayuri had already guessed what happened here.
“Most likely,” He paused, unsure if he should really tell the truth. “dead.” He finished quickly. “No wonder there’s such a high concentration of Hollow here. There always is where wars break out.” He pointed out, as if that would help the situation at all.
“So, the husbands and fathers of the women and children living here advance ahead, take over whatever towns they please. They kill the people inhabiting it and then let their whores and spawn move in to good people’s homes and destroy those as well?” He asked, his tone chilling.
“Yes…sir.” The man responded hesitantly, the tone sending a shiver through him. “They travel through the country on the order of some grand master until an opposing force stops them. They’re a long term, destruction and conquering force. Hence taking their families with them.”
“Would destroying their families and all of their stockpiles be considered an opposing force worthy of stopping them.”
“Most likely the weapons left here are simply overstock from those they capture, but eventually they dig into them. And the food as well, so yes. It may not be immediate, but they would feel the loss of the supplies. As for the family, that would be a, well..” He stuttered not sure how to put it. “It would not effect the strength of the army, but moral would plunge, I’m sure.”
“So it would be icing on the cake.” Mayuri asked, his white teeth showing in a fierce grin.
“If that was how you wanted to put it.” The man agreed, clearly worried by both Mayuri’s tone and grin. He made a quick glance toward the village. What in the world was he thinking?
“Then let’s do it.” Mayuri said after a moment, viciously kicking at the pile of charcoal at his foot, sending it scattering in front of him.
“Sir?”
“Kill them. Destroy the supplies.”
The man just balked. His mouth was still open when Mayuri turned to look at him.
“Not going to do it? Going to make me do it myself are you?”
“Sir, this isn’t what we came here for. This isn’t even where we’re supposed to be. We’re due to subdue a Hollow nearly three days travel south of here. We can’t just go around killing mortals. That’s rather…frowned upon.” He said quickly, his fears growing as the dull yellow eyes were now trained on him, chilling in their lack of humanity.
“Fine!” Mayuri flared, pulling out his Zanpakuto. “I’ll do it myself.” He shoved the man hard against the shoulder as he passed. “Just go away.”
The two watched him stalk away for a moment, looking from Mayuri to each other several times. Was this really happening? Was he really going to kill all of those people?
“I think we should go back…warn someone.” One suggested, swallowing hard as he watched Mayuri disappear over the rise.
Without answering, the two turned and ran back toward the Senkai gate.

By the time the squad of lieutenants and seated Shinigami came through to subdue the homicidal Mayuri, it was too late. The damage had been done and it was extensive. A group of bodies lay at the edge of the village that was nestled against the trees, where he’d caught them by surprise. The rest were huddled in corners of houses, a few larger groups in communal buildings.
They found Mayuri, covered in blood, sitting atop the dirt and ash pile that had once been Keiko’s home. His home. His Zanpakuto lay beside him, discarded carelessly. The usually pristine silver blade was chipped and smeared with blood.
“Sir, we need you to come back with us.” The lieutenant said gently, not sure what mood this man might be in. He didn’t want to put anyone else in danger or cause any more trouble.
He couldn’t suppress a shiver when Mayuri raised his eyes to look at him. They were empty and cold. Whoever this man was, he was no longer the Mayuri that Seireitei knew. It took no force to bring him back to Seireitei. He’d gone willingly, even eagerly.
His silence during the trial was eerie. He didn’t try to prove innocence, even going so far as to admit his crime. The killing of hundreds of mortals. His even account of the event, as well as the new style of dress had those who bore witness on edge. The black and white paint that hid his face, from himself and the world did nothing to keep them from believing he had truly plunged into madness.
His years in the 2nd squad’s prison and ultimate release into the leadership of the 12th squad sent Mayuri on a journey he could never have imagined, even in a delusional hallucination. Perhaps it would have been a blessing if it had all been a hallucination or horrible nightmare. Yet, every day he woke up to the horror of his life. The more he tried to block out that past life, the more insane he seemed to become.
The entire time Mayuri’s horrible transformation was occurring, Kurotsuchi Keiko wandered the realm of Soul Society stuck in her own nightmare. She remembered every detail of her life, even the events leading up to her death. Yet worse still was living with the knowledge that every day Mayuri failed to find her, the worry that he’d break his promise grew. He’d promised to find her, in her living life or the next.
The odd stories of a man who bore the same name lent her little comfort. If he was the same man, then there was no hope of him finding her, for the Mayuri she knew had died, just as sure as her own mortal body had.

Years Later….

Keiko took a deep breath and steeled herself. She’d managed to get this far in her career as a Shinigami without anyone figuring out who she was. But then, she was supposed to be dead, she reminded herself. She wasn’t supposed to remember her former life. And yet, she did. It was ironic that the only man who could explain why was the man she was looking for. Perhaps he was also the reason she’d retained her memories.
Through her years in the academy and consequent stationing in squad seven, she’d avoided Mayuri. She couldn’t stand the thought of the insane and cruel Taichou of the Research Squad being her Mayuri. She’d heard such horrible stories, stories she didn’t want to believe were true. For the fear of them being so, she’d avoided him at all costs. It had taken her a long time to work up the courage to go and see this man.
Now she stood before the rather plain looking gate that marked the territory of Kurotsuchi Mayuri. She couldn’t imagine seeing him the way she pictured in her mind. The way others described him. A hideous creature who preyed on the fear of others, who gained delight from painful experiments. Just the looks on people faces when they told her about him. The raw fear.
“Keiko? Are you the 3rd seat from squad seven who requested to see Kurotsuchi Taichou?” Asked a rather nondescript shinigami who stood near the door to an odd looking building that could only hold some sort of lab.
“Yes, I’m she.” She responded, glad that she sounded more confident and secure than she felt.
“This way please. Kurotsuchi Taichou is waiting for you.” The young man almost sounded as if he felt sorry for her. That did nothing to alleviate her fears. Neither did their passing through the labyrinth of corridors and laboratories. The longer it took to set eyes on the man she’d loved so many years ago, the more her mind wandered on the horrible possibilities.
“You’re late!” Came an annoyed screech. A rather thin shinigami woman scurried out of his way like a beaten puppy when he swirled around to face Keiko. She’d turned to thank her escort but he was already gone. Judging by everyone’s fear of this man, she guessed he’d been gone the moment he was sure she’d be able to reach her destination.
With a quick, steadying breath, she turned her head to look at Mayuri. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. Surely this wasn’t him! It was all she could do not to let out a gasp of shock. The only feature she recognized of the old Mayuri were the pure gold eyes. Peering out from such a hideous mask of black and white, they were cold now. Evil.
She swallowed hard and raised her chin. “Mayuri…” She said softly, a small test to see if he knew, if he remembered.
His eyes flared with anger and his own chin raised, forcing him to look down his nose at her. “Is this a joke?” He asked, sneering to expose pearl white teeth. His head snapped to the side, gold eyes locked on the woman she assumed was his Fukutaichou. “Who is this?” He demanded.
“K…Keiko, Mayuri-sama.” She stammered, looking around frantically. Had she gotten the name wrong? Why was he so angry?
His eyes turned to her again, so cold that Keiko actually shivered. “Keiko what?” He asked with another snarl, taking a few steps toward her, then instantly he was a scant few inches in front of her. He leaned down to examine her face, his own so close to hers that she could feel his body heat. In the past, she wouldn’t have hesitated to kiss him, or hold him, or just stare into his eyes. Now, she had to fight the urge to gag. He even smelled different. Like chemicals and death.
“Is this a joke? What is your last name?” He yelled, shaking her shoulders.
“I can’t tell you.” She said, glaring up at him now. “You wouldn’t believe me.”
“Get out of my sight!” He yelled, using the hands on her shoulders to throw her away from him. It was all she remembered when she hit the wall, the look of contempt on his face before she blacked out. That sight, and the feeling of misery that filled every corner of her being.
He turned on Nemu then. “Who’s sick joke is this?!” He yelled at her, leaning over her so that she had to kneel slightly to keep from connecting foreheads. “Who found out about Keiko?” He asked, his eyes glinting threateningly. “And who would dare such a joke?”
When he saw that she had no answer, he turned toward the woman crumpled against the wall. It wasn’t even close to possible, he told himself. She was dead. As dead as he was.

“Is there a reason why you are requesting that you are not stationed with squad 12?” Her Taichou asked. He was sitting across from her in his office, a tray of tea between them. “I realize that your first meeting with the Taichou did not go well, however given the ability of your zanpakuto, I do not see any alternative for you.”
“Please, any other squad but that one.” She said again, wringing her hands in her lap. “There are too many ghosts there.”
“From your past?” He asked with a hint of concern. “What sort of ghosts?”
She shook her head. “I cannot tell you, I’m sorry. Any other squad, any other station and I will not complain, no matter how bad.”
He sighed and raised his hands slightly, palm out. “I’m sorry, there is nothing that I can do. With your ability to remember your living life and the possibility that your zanpakuto may help others remember their former lives, there simply is no other station or squad for you, Keiko.”
She swallowed hard and willed the ache that was in her throat not to manifest into tears. “If that is where I must be…” She said softly, resigning herself to her fate. “Then it is there that I will go.”
Without waiting to be dismissed, she rose from the rough tatami mat and bowed out of the room. It was a short walk to the barracks. Her last night there at the dorms of the seventh squad. Tomorrow she would begin the orientation for life in the 12th squad. Already there was talk of her going around the Court Guard Squads. Her and her recently released shikai. She had no doubt that it was magnified by the fact that she was unwilling to share any information about her past. It was like she’d given them half the riddle and they bothered her all the more for the rest of it. She had a past life in her mind, but refused to share.
How many other shinigami had wondered what their living life had been like? What had they done for a living? Did they have a family? How did they die? She knew all of these things and could see how others felt about her knowledge. Some reacted with awe, others with a jealous anger. She found that she rather resented the ability. It left her with more fears and doubts, more nightmares than anyone should have to deal with. It left her with an emptiness that nothing could fill. When others grew depressed, they could bury themselves in their training, get lost in their jobs. For her, this profession had been part of the problem in her past. Nearly everything that had gone wrong in her living life could be related to a Shinigami.
Or rather, one single one.
Now, with her shikai, the pestering would be worse. She had been lucky that the man who’d been with her when she’d finally cracked her zanpakuto had be given good memories of a past life. The shock left him with very few that he could call up, but as the ripple of news ran through Seireitei, there was no doubt.
Keiko could give you the memories of your living life.

Despite the fears she’d had of joining the 12th squad, everything seemed to be working out. Mayuri hadn’t shown any interest at all in her shikai. In fact, he went out of his way to ignore the fact that she even existed. People left her alone to do her own work and no one came asking stupid questions she couldn’t answer.
No, she couldn’t tell them who they had been.
No, she wouldn’t tell them who she had been.
No….her life had not been worth remembering. Not anymore.
She was stationed at the Hollow Alert Station. It was basically the building that housed all of the equipment that kept the soul pagers running and up to date. If there was a hollow sighted or detected in the living world, it’s strength was identified and cataloged. Simultaneously, Shinigami of the proper strength and numbers needed to bring it down were informed of its existence.
It was a rather easy job that required very little interaction on her part. Perhaps the occasional command entered into the system if it got too backed up. An manual update of Shinigami who entered or left the living world every once in a while. Generally a very boring job.
Until one popped up on the screen that hit so close to home it made her heart skip a beat. She’d just been getting ready to leave, expecting her relief at any moment. The screen, taller than her by a good dozen feet, blinked a bright blue in one corner. The map automatically zoomed in on the area. The hollow was marked by a bright blue dot, shinigami in the area by red.
The little blue speck stood all alone for nearly 300 miles.
With a quick jab at the keyboard, she halted the processing of the creature, also stopping the nearest shinigami from being alerted to it’s presence.
She knew that area all to well. The Hollow was attacking the valley where she’d lived her entire life. Also the valley where she’d died. It seemed now that this particular valley was cursed with bad luck. Now to have a Hollow, and such a powerful one at that, tearing through she doubted it was anything but bad luck.
And yet, the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her this wasn’t a coincidence. Her heart hammered in her chest as she took a step back, waiting for the screen to display the Hollow. The horrible feeling that she would recognize the Hollow was confirmed when the screen was filled with the horrible visage. The shinigami who was to be her relief appeared in rather short order when the despaired wail filled the corridors, a cry so tortured that it made his entire body grow cold. The poor man didn’t know what was wrong, he just knew that something was indeed terribly wrong.
“Mayuri, I need Mayuri right now!” She cried, grabbing onto his kimono when he flash stepped into the room beside her. She fairly hung off of him, her deep brown eyes misted with tears, pleading. “Now!” She said again when he just stood, looking down at her in stunned silence. He didn’t know which would be more hazardous to his health, to upset the Taichou with an unexpected demand, or to deny this woman her demand.
He was grateful when she simply disappeared, her shunpo carrying her far away from him and his terrible decision. Pretending nothing had happened, he shook of the chill that lingered after she’d left and sat down to begin his work. He cleared the screen glanced back once to make sure she was gone.
With a sigh of relief, he hoped she wouldn’t come back any time soon. Turning back to his work, he sent out an update for a Hollow that was detected in the middle of an ocean. That would be something different for the brutes in the living world to track down. Oh well, if he had to have something exciting happen to him today, then they would too.

To Be Continued….