Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Snack Time ❯ Ramen and Regret ( Chapter 2 )

Tite Kubo owns Bleach. I just borrowed the characters.

 

Ramen and Regret

 

It was hot. Uryu did not notice the heat very much, except when it made his fabric become damp and more difficult to handle. He had not yet gone to bed as he was working on a newer and better version of his Quincy outfit. His hands had started to sweat and he was worried about staining the material. He placed his sewing on the table and dried his hands on a towel he kept close for that purpose.

 

He had been unhappy with the problems the cape had created when he was in the entrance gateway to Soul Society and had tried to work out a modification that would give the impression of a cape but without the vulnerability. He had become absorbed in the work once he had finished his homework.

 

He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. The special sewing light helped, but he found that he forgot the necessary breaks from sewing. His eyes were tired and the bridge of his nose was a little sore from where the glasses rested. It was time to stop sewing for the night. He replaced his glasses gently, shifting the place where they rested so he could look at the time.

 

11.30 pm! Uryu was surprised. He knew that some time would have passed, but he had not expected it to be so late. He stood up and stretched. He felt his muscles protest at working after being forced to remain in one position for so long. But he continued his stretch, moving his shoulders and bending his spine until his muscles responded. He knew what happened if he failed to stretch properly before he went to bed after sewing. He would sleep in uncomfortable positions and wake up sore and tired.

 

Stretching complete, Uryu considered if he should go to bed. No, he was hungry. Not very hungry. Well, okay, he was very hungry. He had eaten little during the day because….because he had been thinking about how he was no longer a Quincy. His powers had gone. When he broke the Quincy artefact in Soul Society he had destroyed his powers and an important part of his identity.

 

He looked at the new outfit. Why did he bother? There was no point in creating a better version. He could not wear it, not if he was not a Quincy. There were no other Quincy's who could wear it. He was a fool! He had destroyed his own powers blindly believing that he would find a way to recover what he had lost. He had only returned from Soul Society a short time but when he awoke his first realisation was that he was no longer a Quincy. He was now less than a Shinigami. He was just an ordinary human. He had been so much more than ordinary and now he was nothing.

 

Uryu had considered himself a Quincy ever since he received the explanation from his grandfather. He had been young when he had listened to the story of his heritage, but it had impressed him. He had the heritage. He was the last of the Quincy's. Or was he? Now he was only a part of a man. He sometimes looked in the mirror expecting to see a faded reflection, or nothing at all. Each time he saw himself and felt disappointed that the loss he felt so deeply was not shown in his reflection. He picked up the Quincy outfit he had been sewing and crushed it in his hand. He did not want to remind himself of his failure. How he had failed his grandfather, how he had failed all Quincy's. He opened a drawer and threw the outfit inside. Why he didn't tear if, rip it into pieces he did not even consider. He just wanted it out of his sight, another reminder of his failure. Worse than the failure was the feeling he had also betrayed all Quincy's with his brief alliance with the substitute Shinigami, Ichigo.

 

He shook his head. He had gone through all these thoughts and emotions previously. There was no point in thinking about a situation he could not change. He was hungry. He should eat and then go to bed.

 

Uryu went to the kitchen. He did not feel like eating much even though he had felt so hungry previously. The weight of his emotions dampened his appetite. He looked in the cupboard and found some packets of instant ramen. He only ate ramen occasionally and did not really like instant ramen. He remembered that this had been on special offer which is why he had purchased the food.

 

Every time he ate ramen he thought of Naruto and the obsession he had with ramen. This thought always amused him slightly. In his current mood ramen seemed like a good idea. It was quick and easy and he could go to bed and try to sleep.

 

He put the water on to boil. While he waited he packed his bag for school the next day. School was a torment to him because he would see Chad, Orihime and Ichigo and that would only remind him again of the part of himself that he had lost, forever. He had to complete his education now because there was nothing else waiting for him when he left school. Only the drudgery of work and eventual death. He doubted if he would marry. There was no point in living or procreation.

 

“Stop it. Just stop it, you idiot.” He spoke aloud. Oh, great, on top of everything else, he was talking to himself. At least the sound of his voice prevented those depressing thoughts, for a few moments. He shook his head and went to complete cooking the ramen.

 

He sat at a table and ate, hardly tasting the food. He thought back to the few meals he had eaten in Soul Society before he …..well the meals he had eaten. It had seemed more fun to eat with other people with whom he was becoming friendly. So unlike this solitary meal he was now consuming. He had withdrawn from his companions since their return. The pride of the Quincy's was strong and his companions had known him as a Quincy. They would not wish to know him now. Maybe he should think of transferring to a new school.

 

He washed the dishes and saucepans and went to bed, disheartened. It took him sometime before he slept. Every dream was a reminder of all he had lost.

 

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Author's Note

 

Please review.

 

MS