CHAPTER ONE

 

The great traitor Aizen Sousuke and his other two captain level accomplices had descended to Hueco Mundo about a week ago, leaving the all of Seireitei in disarray and a tangled web of emotions in every shinigamis’ heart. Seireitei had become a land littered with debris within a matter of days. The whole catastrophe was something that nobody could have seen coming. While some thought nothing about it, most held great resentment for the ex captains. A few even furtively admired Aizen, seeing as he had managed to deceive the whole of Seireitei and succeeded in his devious plan.

 

All in all, vice captains of the three divisions were the most affected. They had served under their captains for many years and having to discover that the one you respected most, the one you put your life on the line to protect, the one whom you thought was your closest friend, was simply too much for them.

 

As everyone worked on restoring Seireitei most could not help being caught up in their own thoughts of either throwing darts at the faces of the ex captains, or secretly planning on following in their footsteps There were even unnecessarily battles when people shared their conflicting views on Aizen’s betrayal.

 

While many shinigami had not gotten over the shock of the situation, there were also a few who were not much affected by it. However, there were three people who didn’t blink an eye or flinch when Aizen, Ichimaru and Tousen had put their final stage of the plan into action. Zaraki Kenpachi and Kusajika Yachiru were both in the 11^th Division headquarters discussing about the fight Ken-chan had with Ichigo and were plotting an element of surprise for the red head when they were to visit him soon in Karakura town for another challenging battle.

 

Meanwhile, Kurotsuchi Mayuri was in his office, sitting in his favorite revolving chair, eyes fixed on his computer in front of him, long pale fingers clattering on the keyboard as he typed continuously, never stopping to rest and flex his fingers. He was halfway through transforming back into his highly improved version of a human body which had been transfigured into a gooey slime in order to save his life. Come to think of think, Mayuri would rather die bleeding on the spot than live in embarrassment because he had to become such a lowly form when fighting with someone whom he should be stronger than.

 

At that point, Mayuri was highly unapproachable. His division members practically stayed a few feet away from him, passing their reports only to his vice captain Nemu, who would approach with great care. The slightest thing that he felt was unacceptable or out of place would land her into the great depths of his sadistic, ill mannered ramblings. He was vindictive and hell bent on revenge. However he was not sure of how he was going to do it without turning into slime again and it seemed his only options were to further disfigure his body and create a new way to counter the attack of the Quincy.

 

“ Or I could just steal Hitsugaya Taichou’s zanpakutou to freeze my body when it turns to slime, then invent something that would change the frozen block of slime back into me!” thought Mayuri, snickering to himself then realizing that his division members could have probably heard his insane cackle.

“Oops” he muttered, touching his lips with his hands, delicate fingers stroking his pale mask, black fingernails basking in the light, “Che, who cares, could always dispose off them. Needn’t worry anyway, since my reputation’s already damned ruined. Thank you friggin Quincy! Just you wait. Say your prayers cause nobody gets away with humiliating me. GEEZ Quincy you really deserve a flying kick to Hueco Mundo, with a letter from me attached to a collar round ya neck. Attention Aizen Sousuke, a new specimen I have sent, have fun playing and remember ya owe me one!” Mayuri chuckled, stopping when a deep pain formed in his abdomen. “Eh,” he thought, “Am I going past my sane limit…”

 

“…Mayuri-sama?”

 

Mayuri spun around in his chair at the realization that someone may have overheard his very personal thoughts. Unfortunately because he was partly human form and partly slime, his chair was not used to the lighter weight and spun 360 degrees instead.

 

“KISAMA!!” he yelled, unknowingly allowing his cheeks to blush a little pink, and continued swearing when he realized that. Then he remembered that as long as he wore his mask, nobody could see his face.

 

“ARGH whatever, like I said my reputation is already ruined. I’d be sure to kill anyone who dares bring that fact up anyway. Oh this is really a pain! How I wish I would change back immediately. Not being able to sense others’ reiatsu at the moment is infuriating...” he thought, carefully maneuvering the chair to face his uninvited guest.

 

“…gomen Mayuri-sama. But I was worried when I…”

 

“CHE! YOU!” Mayuri yelled, half relieved it was only his Nemu, the other half worried that she had heard him talking to himself about that damned Quincy. Though Nemu was really stubborn and never stopped denying it, he could sense she had some kind of bond with that boy. Not that he cared about her feelings but he just did not want to have to waste his efforts to shut her up when she started talking about the Quincy and how Mayuri-sama had misunderstood him. It had not been pleasant seeing as he could not kill her off. Sure, he had nearly finished her when he fought with that Quincy, but it was only so he would not lose face. How could he let a boy who knew nothing about him think that he actually cared for Nemu?! It would ruin his whole image and he would surely be mocked by the other shinigami when they came to hear of it.

 

He had a reputation to maintain, a past to keep buried deep in him to constantly remind him of his past failures, a dream to succeed, a life to avenge and a promise he made to himself to go all the way because he would not let that person’s efforts go to waste, that one very important person, whom he could never repay. He had his own reasons that he would never divulge, not even to his daughter.

 

“….get tea for you, Mayuri-sama?” Nemu’s voice which he had been oblivious to slowly slipped into his thoughts just as he was winning the internal battle fought with his mind to forget the past for the moment. The last thing he wanted was Nemu on his heels.

 

“Nani, Nemu?! Can’t you see I’m busy?! Get out of my sight, I’m having a freaking headache and would not want to have to personally take action, so if you know what’s good for you, scram!” Mayuri shrieked, his left hand rising to hold his head which he swore he thought was about to fall off, and the other hand gripping onto his zanpakutou to add an effect to his words.

 

“Hai, Mayuri-sama, but should you need anything, please let me know. Do not stress yourself over little things as well. You are not well, Mayuri-sama. You need rest and your temper under control in order for your body to fully transform back…” Nemu ranted, on and on, she did not seem to have the least bit of common sense that Mayuri was beyond pissed and would love to shove a big chunk of food into her mouth to shut her up. Not that it might work like that ingenious 6^th Division captain had tried with Yachiru.

 

“NEMU! You are garrulous!” Mayuri interrupted her preaching, which she seemed to always pick the wrong time start on, “Please, just leave.”

 

“Hai, Mayuri-sama, just one more thing...”Nemu said, but her voce trailed away slowly as she pondered if her next words were going to change her father back into slime with his uncontrollable and tremendous temper. His body was not yet stable so the slightest outburst would make him a sluggish pile of slime yet again.

 

“SAY IT NEMU! I am waiting!”

 

“As you wish, Mayuri-sama. Eto, I overheard you talking just now and I’m very sorry you lost to the Quincy, but please don’t blame-“

 

“SHIMATTA” echoed through Mayuri’s mind at least ten times before he put on his most serious face and was about to lecture Nemu and punish her when he was struck with an idea to make the Quincy suffer his wrath. He sneered silently, desperately trying to control his body from breaking out into convulsions from being unable to control his laughter. He managed fortunately to pinch himself and acquire a blank look before facing his daughter.

 

“Nemu, before you continue on and on with that monotonous tone of yours that is so much like a lullaby, I want you to go down to the human world. I want you to bring the Quincy back. AND BEFORE YOU INTERRUPT, I am not going to kill him, just play with him and put him through some stress and you know. use him to alleviate my pain. So I have a plan that will work to both our benefits…”

 

When Nemu heard of her father’s plans she was beyond dumbstruck. Her father? Using seduction techniques? To avenge himself? She had stared incredulously and immediately asked him if he was feeling okay and even went through the trouble of getting yelled at, almost losing her hearing when she had asked him to visit the 4^th Division for a check-up and if possible get the assistance of a therapist. Though he had beaten her a little, she was glad the old Mayuri-sama was back. The vigorous, petty father of hers. He had cocked his head to his left and grinned maniacally, barking off all sorts of threats so she would not refuse the order. It was true that Mayuri was often insane and his ideas were by far ridiculous but this was the first time that his ideas had far surpassed what she thought he was capable of.

 

In the end, what surprised her most was the fact that he actually knew she had feelings for the Quincy. She was flabbergasted and she felt heat rise up to her cheeks as they flushed a vibrant shade of red. She tried desperately to hide it by staring at the ground, then playing with her long braid and as if it was a shield to hide her face under.

 

She almost fainted when Mayuri-sama screeched that if she did not calm down; her heart would stop from the extreme pressure she was giving it by forcing it to pump that many times a minute. She then silently cursed that her one and only secret she thought she could keep to herself had been long discovered.

 

Mayuri, sensing her thoughts, only turned away and grinned sheepishly, so he had been right after all. He was however a little unnerved that her feelings were that strong. Not to mention inhumanly jealous of the way she felt towards the Quincy. He could never figure out for the life of his what was so great about the four eyed stick figure. However, he felt great and immortal that this was the first time he managed to get his revenge without causing any form of injury. He was never one for violence but the unfairness of life and the great depths of betrayal that had fallen upon him were the demons that became one with his life.

 

He had found it harder and impossible to forgive, after all the people he had given a second chance to all took things for granted and he was always taken advantage of. He shuddered as he recalled his past then became infuriated with himself for letting the recollections of his childhood drift into the present.

 

Nemu, sensing a great shift in her father’s aura, thought it was better for both of them if she left him alone. Sighing, she left the room. “Oh well,” she thought, “Least I get to spend some time with the first person I ever felt this way to.” She hurriedly turned, long luscious braid of hair trailing behind her as she used to shunpo to get out of her father’s office.

 

“I must be thankful though, Mayuri-sama never scolded me for having some feelings for that Quincy. But it’s not like I can help it either!” Nemu thought, lost in deep thought, “Well I don’t know what Mayuri-sama wants with that Quincy when I bring him back, but I’d surely protect him.” She started packing her things for a two day trip to Karakura Town, not forgetting to include the cosmetics she had purchased from Matsumoto and her secret diamond earrings that she had never shown anyone before. With that she sighed and a small smile crept upon her face, erasing even the slightest bits of unhappiness in her. For once, she was actually looking forward to an order by Mayuri-sama.

Chapter 2

 

“Never underestimate the great powers of a little brat and her childish companions!” Renji snorted,

 

“Never mind that, at least all of us are safe. Then again, don’t you think there’s something fishy about this whole crap?” Ishida pondered, lifting his finger to his face, and did his infamous habit of pushing up his glasses. Everyone turned to face Ishida, thinking over what their friend had brought up. Ichigo, with a puzzled frown and Renji with a blank look, were somehow slower to comprehend what Ishida said.

 

“You mean that the game is still on? Che, those losers really have a load of free time. Probably fired from their last job I guess,” said Ichigo, smiling at the image of the three musketeers being told off by their boss for screwing around on the job then shuddered as he recalled himself, Renji and Rukia having been in the same situation once. He gulped, it was an awful experience. From that day onwards Ichigo swore that he could feel his ears ring and vibrate whenever there was a loud noise near him. Neither would he forget Rukia’s chappy rabbit ring that left a beautiful mark on his face. Being punched by her was bad enough; having a rabbit shaped scar on his face was the greatest terror. He thanked god for bandages.

 

“I don’t know about that, they probably didn’t even have a job in the first place!” Inoue butted in, wide grin on her face. She seemed to have forgotten that she was kidnapped by the three only a day before. Well, it was not as if the kidnapping was a bad experience, she could hardly remember a thing about it or being tortured, she only recalled party balloons and cute little dolly teacups as she sipped her own concoction of sweet bean paste tea.

 

“You’re right!” Renji said, pointing a finger at Ishida who leaned back to avoid contact with Renji’s finger, which he wondered if his friend ever washed. “There is something wrong with this whole situation,” Renji finished, putting on a serious face while he frowned and squeezed his brains to come up with a more brilliant thing to beat Ishida’s smartness.

 

“Well I guess we shouldn’t worry yet, just watch our backs and prepare-” Ishida spoke, shrugging, but was only interrupted by Renji.

 

“I know! I know what’s wrong with this whole mess. Well they are probably-attracted to you, Ichigo! I saw their eyes traveling all over you. Head to toe left to right! You got not only the girl checking you out but the boys too! It all makes sense; they played with us so they could toy with you without raising suspicions! Ah, they probably returned Inoue and Chad because they would be heart broken to see you cry. Boy Ichigo, I am so jealous!” Renji spouted, snickering silently to himself. Now that is really so clever of me, thought Renji.

 

Ishida simply crosses his arms and arched his eyebrows. He contemplated whether to go home or hang around in case of trouble. But his presence seemed to be ignored and forgotten as everyone stared at Renji and so Ishida walked away. Chad just wore his signature blank expression and Ichigo was raging, his body shaking uncontrollably as he clenched his fists and raised his hand to grab Zangetsu. He was about to take it off his back when Inoue spoke.

 

“Ano, Renji-kun, could that be true? Wow, Kurosaki-kun sure has a lot of suitors! Don’t be jealous, when he gets famous, we get his money! I can’t imagine, Kurosaki-kun, a celebrity! We can all travel with him and become famous too, and then I can sell my delicious sweet bean paste recipes! Yay! Then we can go-” Inoue was rambling on and on and Ichigo felt irritated at first then worried it was caused by a severe blow to her head that she received when she was kidnapped. He was about to ask her if she was okay when he remembered Renji was still lingering around, a cheeky grin plastered across his face that straightened when he caught Ichigo staring at him.

 

“Renji, you must be seriously neglected and missing out a lot when it comes to relationships ne? I have a coffin,” Ichigo said calmly.

 

“Eh? A coffin? Ichigo, are you going insane thinking about the girl and boys that demand your attention? Hahaha! You must be hallucinating right now about them, no? Don’t let your imagination run too wild ne, you’ll only sputter more nonsense and drive people away! What are you talking about man!” chuckled Renji.

 

“I have a coffin, RENJI,” Ichigo replied, stressing on his friend’s name to prove he was very much conscious and not in another dimension of his own, “A coffin, which has grown attached to you so badly it cries out for you every night, weeping whenever you never turn up, it is desperate for your loving soul Renji! Why don’t you entertain it? It is as attracted to you as you said those three kidnappers are attracted to me. Why, you may even pick up some tips from it. Or a few good pick-up lines.”

 

“Nani Ichigo?! You’re really insane ya know, what crap are you-” Renji retorted, but halfway grasped what Ichigo meant, “You know, you pick a fight with your sword, not your mouth! Baka!”

 

Ichigo’s heart did a little victory dance seeing his friend look humiliated.

 

“Kurosaki-kun, Renji-kun, I think that’s enough, we’ve been standing here for quite some time and receiving weird looks from passers-by!” Inoue pleaded her eyes giving her that look of a cute little pitiful kitten asking for milk. She called it her “getting things her way” technique.

 

Renji and Ichigo both glared at each other for a second before turning their backs and silently muttering curses under their breaths. Inoue sighed, proud of herself for stopping a typhoon from destroying the streets of Karakura Town.

 

“Mattaku! That Ichigo and Renji, I’m glad I left before they started a fight. It seems like that’s all they ever do nowadays,” Ishida thought furiously. They even fought during the game with their enemy to get Inoue and Chad back. He slapped his forehead at the thought being with them any longer. Not that he hated them, he was glad to have friends after spending his childhood alone. He simply was annoyed that they always made a ruckus as if they were fighting in a wrestling match and he was the referee.

 

It was early morning but he was tired from spending the night at the museum playing the ridiculous time consuming game to rescue his friends. He yawned and stretched, before heading towards his bedroom, promising himself an hour’s rest before working on his new project to sew a doll for Inoue. He blushed as he thought about it, and wondered when he would ever have the guts to talk to Inoue alone and tell her how he felt.

 

As he ascended the steps to his room, he smiled sheepishly, thinking about how Inoue would react to his confession when suddenly he tripped and fell forwards, arms scrambling to hold on to the banister before he tumbled down the stairs. However, an arm gripped his and for a moment he was thankful to that person for saving him many broken bones when darkness surrounded him. He rubbed his eyes and opened them again wondering if he was already in dreamland when he noticed he was being dragged around in a bag, a very uncomfortable poky and rough sack actually. He opened his mouth to yell for help when he realized that the aura of the kidnapper felt a bit familiar. He started to reach for his mobile phone but unfortunately before he could do so he was knocked out by a blow to his head.

 

Cloud snickered. Vanishing to join his friends Ririn and Nova in their secret hideout where he hid the unconscious body of Ishida Uryuu. He wished he had not had to kidnap him because it sounded really stupid and after all they did not have any intention of demanding a ransom or anything. He just wanted to pretend to be Ishida and go along with the plan of getting Ichigo and his friends to guess who was a fake between them while he imitated Ishida’s every behavior to make things harder for them.

 

After leaving Ishida in Nova and Ririn’s care, he quickly returned to Ishida’s house, disguising himself from head to toe as the real Ishida. He pranced to the mirror and was instantly pleased to know that he was such a genius and that he looked completely like Ishida, not a single thing out of place. He loved this technique of his. He loved simply how others reacted when they realized they had been so ignorant that their friend had disappeared and a fake had taken his place.

 

Settling himself on the couch of Ishida’s, he reached out his hand to search for the remote to turn on the television. “I’ll rest today and tomorrow shall be the climax!” he thought, snickering, “Then Ririn and Nova will announce that a fake among them exists and I can watch in pleasure as they struggle to pick out any odd happenings between them!” Cloud chuckled, not realizing someone was in the vicinity watching him.

 

Nemu was extremely confused. Crouched down on one knee behind a bush, she watched the inside of Ishida’s house. She did not know Ishida laughed that maniacally and even talked to himself. He did not seem like a mentally unstable person so she decided it was simply stress induced after the visit to Soul Society. “Or maybe he’s madly missing me,” she thought, a smile creeping across her porcelain face, but she slapped herself lightly for allowing such thoughts. She flushed lightly in embarrassment but pinched herself this time. She could not let herself get embarrassed so easily especially in front of Mayuri-sama when she returned with Ishida. She actually pondered aborting this mission.

 

 “What if getting his attention doesn’t work? What if he refuses to go back with me to Soul Society? What will I do then? How far will I go to tell him about my feelings for him? Will I be able to control myself after that? What if I am rejected because he has a girlfriend? WHAT IF?!” thoughts like these echoed through her mind, buzzing loudly like a swarm of bees, refusing to leave her in peace.

 

She cursed herself for having second thoughts about completing her mission. Sure, she would love to be in Ishida’s presence, she would love for him to look at her again and to spend time with him. She was however a little worried that he might not feel the same way about her. After much debating, she decided to give things a try. After all, she would never know how he felt if she did not try and was determined not to waste this golden opportunity of her life.

 

Nemu stood, frantically pulling down the hem of her slightly above knee length lacy skirt. She was not used to any other clothing except her shinigami uniform but she had to look good in front of Ishida. So she had sacrificed her comfort and her hard earned money as well. She was thankful that Ishida could see her shinigami form so she could emerged out of her gigai anytime if she needed to. Like for example, she thought, falling flat on her face because it was the first time she put on a gigai.

 

Neatly braiding her hair for the fifth time, she checked out her image in her small compatible mirror, tilting it in every direction to examine every angle of herself. She applied some lip gloss and eye shadow before putting on her newly bought high heels and walking a little awkwardly towards Ishida’s house.

 

Cloud was bored. The television channels Ishida had subscribed to was nothing but Science, Geography, news and everything educational. He flipped through the channels, frantically searching for at least one normal channel to watch. He was really disappointed. Regretting choosing Ishida, he wished he chose someone else to imitate. Ishida’s life was boring. Mundane and too intellectual. Nothing fun to do at all. Ishida’s only way of relaxation seemed to be watching boring educational shows and sewing. Sewing, something Cloud had never imagined Ishida would do. It was troublesome and required a lot of patience. Things Cloud definitely lacked of. The fridge was very empty as well. It was packed, but packed with a lot of nutritional brain food that Cloud would rather starve than eat.

 

Cloud was about to burst into tears from the lack of life in the house when there was a knock on the door. Cloud sighed, he did not want to start playing the game so soon, he wanted to rest a day but if Ichigo or Ishida’s friends were here, he just had to deal with it.

 

Cloud was mesmerized. After peeking through the eyehole in the door, he was simply stunned and dumbstruck by beauty. “Ishida had such a great sexy girlfriend?” Cloud though, drooling and eyes blinded by love, “maybe things aren’t going to be as boring as I thought.” Cloud immediately regained his composure and braced himself, remembering to keep to acting exactly as Ishida. But was suddenly worried when he realized Ishida’s girlfriend might suspect. She was, after all, his girlfriend. He took deep breaths and calmed himself, put on Ishida’s serious look and strutted to open the door. Meanwhile, inside him, his heart was palpitating wildly and he had to try very hard to suppress his excitement. “What a day I’ll have! Hopefully she won’t get me into bed and find out I’m not Ishida. Then again, would it be very bad, after she took off-” Cloud’s thoughts were interrupted by the continuous knocking which seemed to grow louder and the intervals between each knock shorter. He was a dead man if he made Ishida’s girlfriend wait any longer, he thought.

 

Outside, Nemu was getting anxious, she was debating whether to give up and turn away when the there was a click and the door opened. Box of chocolates in hand, Nemu prepared herself mentally, calming her nervousness once again.

 

“Konichiwa, Ishida-kun, I-”

 

“Kurotsuchi Nemu?!” Cloud sputtered, then immediately regained his posture and welcomed her in. He was very surprised. No way could she be Ishida’s girl. If not, what was she here for? Cloud could never figure out for his life why the Twelfth Division Vice Captain had come to visit Ishida. He trembled slightly before he caught himself and stopped. “Oh well, I’ll just have to be very careful and not say the wrong things. Best to let her speak first and act accordingly. I can’t give myself away to her!” Cloud worried, anxiously squeezing his fingers, and then he realized it was a good thing after all. He could have fun and at the same time not get found out as Nemu did not know Ishida well. He breathed a sigh of relieve and closed the door after she had entered. “what pretty feet as well,” he thought, chuckling silently.

 

Nemu thought there was something off about Ishida but decided to shrug it off. She shyly offered him the box of chocolates as he asked her to take a seat. Nemu could not help wandering her eyes all over the artistically done house, gazing in awe. The sofa covers were all sewn by hand and so were the curtains. The furniture seemed really expensive and stationed at every corner of the neat and tidy house were antique vases. Nemu could not help being amazed.