Untitled Mai Hime/Otome/Bleach Fic
Untitled (I'll think of something later)
by: Vexed Fusion
Yuri/Action/Romance/Fantasy
Not yet Rated
Mai Hime, Bleach
OOC
Contains original characters
(A note: This doesn't follow exactly to the storyline on Bleach. I have taken many liberties and have changed much of the Bleach cast to include the Mai Hime characters where needed. If you must insist on a time line, consider it to be over a thousand years since Aizen took power and was taken down by Ichigo and etc. There won't be bounts, Vizards, quincies, or humans-for the most part. I don't know those storylines and won't be persuing them.
The point is that while I use the Soul Society Arc as reference, nothing is set in stone. Even the rules set in Bleach about Arrancar won't be followed in this story. You'll just have to read it to see how I use the information.
If there is something you want to take up with me about how I use the storyline from Bleach, please email them to me at vexedfusion@gmail.com. I'm welcome to some criticism about matching up timelines/information/details but would prefer criticism based off my writing as a whole.
Thanks for taking the time to read!)
Chapter One
Natsuki was bored. But when wasn't she bored these days? Her previous position as lieutenant in the eleventh division at least offered her more freedom and more time to kick hollow ass. Now most days all she did was paperwork and admonishing other lieutenants and squad leaders for their stupidity and disregard for the law. The kind of law she used to follow only as her needs suited her.
But Natsuki had no one to blame but herself. She was the one who allowed herself to be charmed by that melodic voice and words which no doubt were layered with meaning after meaning. Natsuki felt if she even tried to fathom the General her head would explode. No one but that woman was as suited for General. Still, for everyday that passed, Natsuki began to crave the freedom she once had. Being lieutenant for the first division was certainly not all it was cracked up to be.
She leaned away from the desk covered in paperwork. Stacks were everywhere and while that might annoy some people like Ise Nanao, Natsuki figured it didn't matter since most of it was still unfinished. Her neck ached and her back was sore from hunching over all afternoon. She rose to her feet and took up her Zanpakuto. If she spent anymore time in this office she'd certainly die... again. With that in mind she decided Shizuru wouldn't blame her for taking a break.
One or two hollows and then the lieutenant would be back behind her desk slaving away at those stacks of paperwork for the rest of the night. The break would give her some energy and work her appetite. Maybe she could sneak back over to the eleventh division and get some of Mai's ramen.
As Natsuki entered the human world she lamented how neither Mai nor herself had been apart since their time in the academy. They took a disliking to each other at first but eventually grew to understand and respect one another. Natsuki's time in the Rukongai forced her to grow up alone, only relying on herself. But Mai and others helped to break that icy exterior she once relied upon. Her agreement to take the position of lieutenant of the first division was one she sometimes regretted.
Had Mai not immediately been promoted to her old position she probably wouldn't have stayed.
Nevertheless, aside from the lack of hollow killing and stricter rules, she reveled in the new found power and continually worked at honing her skills. She felt she wasn't too far off from achieving her bankai. Once that happened-
Natsuki's thought was cut off the moment she sensed the hollow. It wasn't too strong but it would serve as a warm-up. She leapt to the highest building-a small hotel-and closed her eyes allowing just enough spiritual pressure to escape in order to lure the hollow. Within moments she saw the shadows shifting shape and a bear-like creature running towards her. It screamed loudly when it's mask was split. Natsuki already had her Zanpakuto sheathed before it disappeared.
“Lieutenant!”
Natsuki turned her head just in time to watch a soul reaper drop to one knee, head bowed.
“Ahh, ummm,” Natsuki searched for a name. She couldn't recognize the green haired person but the moment she felt the pressure coming from them, she knew, “Leto.”
Leto rose to her feet, her white skin glowing in the high moon. She looked to where the hollow once laid and then back to Natsuki. “I didn't realize you were covering this area. Let me call the others off and move on.”
Natsuki shook her head, “I'm not really patrolling this area. Just venting after a hard day's work. Were you tracking this one?”
“It's power was minimal. Then I felt something very strong-that must have been you,” Natsuki nodded, “I wasn't really tracking it, but just watching to see if the others would pick up on it.”
The two moved to the side of the building peering out towards the small city. Natsuki watched Leto out of the corner of her eye. Leto wandered into the Seireitei a little over five decades ago. She was immediately accosted by a squad of soul reapers intent on killing her. After all, no one has seen an Arrancar for over a thousand years.
She wasn't like the previous Arrancars. No one, not even Leto, knew where she came from. Her memory only consisted of several years of wandering and learning to control her powers, thirst, and other things Natsuki couldn't fathom. Shizuru accepted her into the academy without a second look since, well, Leto did manage to hold off an entire squad without so much as a scratch.
Upon graduation Leto was moved right into a first chair position in the ninth division. Shizuru had mentioned once in passing that Leto could have been a lieutenant had there been any open spots.
“But never Captain,” was Natsuki's response. She hadn't said it as a statement, but more like an insinuation. She was aware of the disdain for the Arrancar and how much Shizuru's decision angered most of the Seireitei. Natsuki figured people would sooner kill Shizuru rather than allow Leto to take a position of such power.
Shizuru had smiled, “Ara, Natsuki. Do you also harbor ill feelings towards our Arrancar friend?”
Natsuki's deep frown and red face told the story more than her words could. Any word she might have uttered would have given her away. Shizuru hit the center of the bullseye. Natsuki didn't trust any of those hollows-human form or not. Hollow existed for only one reason.
But Natsuki wasn't a fool. She didn't feel as though this was a huge battle between good and evil. She knew the necessity for both sides. The collapse of any one of the realms meant devastation for the other two. But where did that put the Arrancar?
Arrancar's only came into existence because of one man's desire to merge the realms and become ruler of all. Because Arrancar's power equaled that of lieutenants and captains they were a formidable army. However, everyone, including Natsuki, had believed them to all be destroyed. She wasn't alone in the shock of having one enter so boldly into the guarded fortress.
Her distrust of Leto never decreased. Unlike Shizuru, Natsuki could not bring herself to believe that this Arrancar meant no harm. Even after Unohana's reassurance of the memory loss and Leto's desire to help others, still, Natsuki couldn't shake the feeling that this was not right.
Shizuru wanted to speak personally with Leto before allowing the Arrancar anywhere else in the Seireitei. Natsuki had sat in with them, merely listening and not speaking. She still remembered Leto's monotone words.
“It isn't guilt or any sort of... of ... desire to contain my true nature. Besides, no one but me knows my true nature, that's what I believe. And I believe that some feeling or thing guided me to this place. Maybe I can figure it out. Maybe I can't. But in the mean time, shouldn't I give use of my powers? Otherwise what's the point? Why bother going on?”
Natsuki couldn't buy the bullshit which Shizuru fell knee deep in. What did any of that mean except that at any given moment this Arrancar could remember her true nature and begin killing again? And when Shizuru gave the order to have Leto trained Natsuki nearly burst through the roof. The soul society would willingly train a being which did not belong here and could kill without a second notice?
And like a slap to the face Shizuru calmly said, “We willingly trained those who turned against us so many years ago.”
Natsuki wanted to say that this case was different. But how could she?
Fact of the matter was, she still couldn't trust this Leto, but she had to admire the girl's guts for putting up with all the hate directed at her and still coming out into first chair.
“Could we assist you in anything, Lieutenant?”
Natsuki stretched her arms forward and yawned, “Not tonight. I'll move on and leave this area to you.” She leaned back on her heels and paused, “You're doing very well at keeping your spiritual pressure under control. I couldn't sense you until you landed on the roof.”
Leto bowed her head, “My control seems to be the only thing I've perfected since coming here.”
The blue haired woman smirked, “Then you're already ahead most of the reapers. Control is supposed to be one of the hardest things to learn.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Lieutenant,” Leto's black eyes appeared strained, “Thank you for your assistance here tonight. Please enjoy the rest of the night and leave the rest up to us.”
At that Natsuki sped off into the darkness leaving the Arrancar behind.
Control was quite difficult. For her to have mastered that sent chills down Natsuki's spine.
And yet manners like those made Natsuki jealous. Despite Shizuru's seemingly calm attitude the woman was lecherous behind closed doors. She often joked at Natsuki's expense. Another hollow made it's presence known a couple hundred yards ahead. The dark haired lieutenant grinned as she moved forward.
“Didn't you pick a bad spot to show your ugly face?”
-----------------------------------
Chie in the third division wasn't an uncommon sight. She was there nearly every other day now and had grown so popular among the squads that there was a petition going around for her acceptance into the division. Even if Chie wanted to get into the division the chances of it were no better than the chances of the Shizuru fan club going away. It was a good thing she had no interest in such things.
Chie's only interest was that of a brown haired, blue eyed girl whose kindness was only exceeded by someone like fourth division's captain.
“Senoh-san is out on patrol.”
Chie scratched her head, “Really? Dang. I thought that wasn't until later.”
The young soul reaper bowed his head, “She will be back soon. They've been out all night.”
“Oh man, that must be hard. You wouldn't happen to know why she changed shifts?”
“It was the captain's orders. She shifted all the subdivisions and squads around yesterday.”
Chie sighed and gave a small thanks before turning to leave the vicinity of the division. She peered at the rising sun and pondered the sudden shift. Tomoe Marguerite, the third division captain, was as sneaky as they come. Her motives were never clear until the outcome and aside from her not-so-secret obsession with a certain General, no one really knew her true objective. Chie didn't like the fact that Aoi was placed in this division but whenever she brought the subject up her blue eyed lover changed topics.
For a moment Chie considered meeting Aoi at the gate to the human world but the girl would be with her squad and she didn't like the way the squad ogled the two women whenever they were together. She opted for a spot up on the roof near the third division. From her spot she could nearly see the seventh division.
The seventh division always felt like home to her. Her captain was a most respected soul reaper with enormous power but a gentle personality. He was stern and yet gentle and always uncompromisingly fair. He was also rather forgiving of his lieutenant, Haruka Armitage, and her angry outbursts at the officers whenever they failed to follow the rules. Thankfully, since Yukino took the position of first officer, those outbursts were coming less and less.
Chie turned her head slightly as she felt a strong pressure coming close. She had just barely risen to her feet as Homura Nagi, lieutenant of the eighth division, appeared at her side. The dark haired woman dropped to one knee and bowed her head.
“Lieutenant,” she stated. Most likely he was passing through and she doubted he would even give her a second look.
“Aah, second officer Chie Hallard,” the voice startled the woman, but she didn't let it show. Nagi's voice was akin to that of nails on a chalkboard and always left a wake of goosebumps across her skin, “Taking some leisurely time for yourself?”
Rising to her feet Chie shook her head, “Waiting for someone.”
Nagi smiled and Chie instantly thought of a snake, “Really? Isn't she out on patrol? I would have thought you two might have your schedules synchronized.”
If all the young lieutenant wanted to do was tease her, Chie figured she could spend her time elsewhere, “Not yet. If you'll excuse me-”
“Wait!” The light haired boy stepped in front of her and for probably the first time in his life looked apologetic, “I didn't mean it like that. You see, I'm actually sympathetic to your problems. It's no secret the two of you are a devoted couple, after all. But you're both in different divisions. Must make it quite difficult.”
Chie pursed her lips together. She waited for the ulterior motive to present itself.
“Maybe if you were nearer to one another...” Bingo, thought Chie.
“Listen, lieutenant, I appreciate your concern, but the two of us are quite happy. We don't have any desire to change it.”
Nagi looked crestfallen, “You aren't even going to hear me out?”
Chie sighed. Best to not anger a lieutenant, especially this one. “Go ahead,” she said with great reluctance.
“I'll get to the point. I can see you aren't a person who can be bought with flattery and sympathy,” he cleared his throat, “You have heard about the Arrancar, have you not?”
Chie nodded. Her eyes glinted with feint interest.
“How do you feel about the situation?”
“What do you mean?” started the dark haired woman, “About how she is now first officer? Or...” Chie fished, now wondering what the lieutenant was up to.
Nagi frowned, “A lot of people don't agree that she should have been allowed into the academy, let alone the Seireitei. I just wondered, where you sided on that?”
“Well, I think of myself more as an observer than a person who takes sides.”
“That's what I thought.”
Chie searched Nagi's purple eyes. When would he get to his point.
“Anyways,” Nagi continued, “I just thought, since division nine is so much closer in distance to division three than yours is and that since you're only a second officer...” He trailed off with a sly smile.
Chie picked up, “You want me to challenge the Arrancar for her spot.”
“Certainly it'd be more responsibility, but also more freedom.”
“That's even assuming Captain Zoku would even allow it.”
“It wouldn't matter what he thought. The better reaper should be rewarded the better position.”
“Chie what's going... oh! Lieutenant Homura!” Aoi dropped to her knee, mimicking Chie's actions earlier.
“Hello Senoh. How was your patrol?”
Chie moved over next to Aoi and continued to give an examining eye to Nagi.
“It was fine, lieutenant. No one was injured,” her graceful smile nearly threw Chie off-balance. She could certainly give Shizuru a run for her money. Chie regained herself and placed a hand on the other woman's shoulder as she rose to her feet.
“That is good,” Nagi responded with care, “I was just speaking with Hallard about how she should consider going after that first officer position in division nine. Well, the sun is up, I need to get back to my division.” He turned away from the two women, “Consider what I said, Hallard, I think you would be well suited for the job.”
At those words he sped off across the roof tops. Chie and Aoi watched until they were certain he was gone.
“What was all that about?”
Chie waved the question off, “You know him, he's always working some angle. I don't know how Captain Ise can stand it. He wouldn't be ranked so high if I were his captain.”
Aoi slipped her arm into Chie's and gave her a soft smile, “Does Chie perhaps have aspirations to become captain one day?” The two leaned in for a kiss leaving a blush on Aoi's cheeks. Chie grinned and smoothed back her short dark hair in an attempt to seem cool.
“I have been working at achieving my bankai. Would you be my lieutenant?”
The brunette didn't respond but instead slipped her hand down the side of Chie's leg. She reached under the layers of black fabric eliciting a blush from her partner. Chie was leaning in for another kiss when the hand pulled out and a pair of glasses were placed on her face. Aoi laughed as the other woman frowned.
“I'm hungry. Let's go get some food. And then I need to rest.”
Chie grunted, “After we eat I have to go out on patrol.”
Aoi pouted and said she was sorry.
“I know, I know. Tomoe is changing schedules on you guys,” the brown eyed officer frowned, “Maybe I should consider taking that first officer spot in division nine.”
“I thought that woman, Leto, was just given it.”
Chie nodded, “Yes. But I could challenge her for it.”
Aoi give a disapproving look, “You don't believe she has the right to be here?”
“She is a hollow, isn't she?”
“I don't know. Captain Unohana approved and so did Shizuru. Maybe we should trust them.”
“Just like when Aizen took power and we trusted the orders coming out of the central 46.”
Blue eyes turned away, “This isn't the same, I think.”
Chie sighed, “Listen, let's go get something to eat, okay? As long as I'm with you I don't need anything else, to be honest. And besides, I've got no beef with this Leto. As long as she follows the rules like the rest of us, what's the harm, ne?”
Upon Aoi's hesitant nod the two headed towards the cafeteria of the third division.
In the distance Nagi leaned against the side of a building with a grin like a Cheshire cat.
He pushed away without sparing a glance to the retreating women, “Ready, set, go.”