0 b.c. / 0 a.d.
Genryūsai had taken to training like a duck to water. He had the basics down in the first decade, and the more advanced usage of spiri—ugh, I mean reiatsu was conquered over the next couple of decades. He invented over a hundred unique abilities. All the original kidō moves (divided into hadō for direct attacks, bakudō for battle support, barriers, seals, and kaidō for healing), as well as with the addition of a few dozen more that I taught him from my past stints on other worlds. Most of the new additions centered around healing—old habits died hard—but there were a few traps, and completely badass looking offenses.
He had, inevitably, obtained his wickedly cool zanpakutō who was way nicer than my Evil™ zanpakutō. The moment we started training with his zanpakutō in play his power exponentially increased.
Enough so that he started going around Soul Society and beating up scumbags like some kind of batman.
Who killed.
Genryūsai definitely killed.
This, in turn, led to some power struggles between old school gangs and I had to step in a few times to help with a couple massacres. Only a couple because I was not evil like my zanpakutō.
Really!
Anywhore, about a decade of doing that significantly cut down on the Soul Society population and put Genryūsai and myself at the top of the food chain.
So by the time 0 b.c. / a.d. rolled around... Genryūsai decided to take control of the situation.
By that I mean he formed the Gotei 13.
It was still in the early beta stages, of course. Most of them were previous gang leaders that Genryūsai beat the snot out of until they came around to his side. Due to all the, ah, purging there weren't many soldiers left to assist the Gotei 13, but we made do.
With the 13 of us working together we managed to piece together some semblance of order in the Soul Society.
And then bursts of hollows would flood the world so we didn't have much time to breathe let alone build a perfect military, but, you know, time was on our side.
(◕▾◕✿)
200 a.d.
It took two centuries before we could really call ourselves a proper military. This was mostly due to the odd increase in hollow attacks, coupled with some first Gotei 13 being petty sore losers and wanting to start a civil war.
Obviously they were killed, but it still slowed things down.
Of the original Gotei 13, only three of us remained. The rest died in battle, or were killed by Genryūsai after being outed as traitors.
Lame traitors at that, they all behaved so predictably it was rather dull. The human world wasn't much better for entertainment at that point, either. To make things worse I still hadn't been able to track down any future Espadas. I had no clue when they were created, but I figured at least a couple of them had to come around this time, yeah?
Ugh. Considering I had been hunting them for so long by that point I felt like I was shiny hunting for something impossible.
But I'd get that shiny.
'Oh yes. I'll get that shiny.'
The three original Gotei 13 that remained was Genryūsai as the leader, myself as the captain of the 5th division (yeah I stole it from Aizen), and Retsu Unohana as the captain of the 11th division.
Genryūsai remained as the pyromaniac powerhouse. He dominated any who opposed us, and was meticulous in refusing to leave behind loose ends. I had yet to see any rage behind his actions—as the canonical story referenced—but instead he worked with detached efficiency. He genuinely wanted the Soul Society to be a better place, and those that violated the laws set forth were a threat to that desire.
He wasn't cruel, or excessive in his bloodlust. He had a good amount of self restraint, and gave those he fought—and who had earned his respect in that fight—a second chance to join him. He wasn't without mercy, as he was notably kinder to civilians and children.
Retsu Unohana on the other hand was just a crazy hot lady with an insatiable thirst for battle. Her real name was Yachiru Unohana, but I only ever knew her as Retsu so I kept calling her Retsu. It pissed her off and she challenged me to a battle to make me call her by her proper name. She lost. I won. She became Retsu. She regularly challenged Genryūsai and me to battle, and every time she lost she became zealous for more. Her craze for battle got so out of hand that Genryūsai flat out refused to send Retsu out onto the field until she could learn some self-control.
She took that to mean: learn how to heal to keep her opponents alive. Sadistic and a wee bit insane that one. Retsu was loyal, and obeyed those she respected. Unfortunately, that list was only down to Genryūsai and me, and if any of the other captains got too close to her she was liable to cut off their legs.
She wasn't a bad captain, at least. Those under her command deeply respected her, and due to the nature of their leader all grew accustomed to battle. The 11th division was modified into a pure combat berserk squad.
It added some intimidation to our military. No one wanted us to send the 11th division after them. Heck, even I didn't wanna fight those crazy fools! Felt more like fighting rabid gorillas than humans.
That and my zanpakutō was Evil™ with a capital e so I could rarely use it. Stupid thing. What I wouldn't give for a reroll. I'd take a zanpakutō that just healed the enemies at that point. Not a dang nuke.
As if sensing I was grumpy about it, I could feel the spirit inside my zanpakutō smirking tauntingly at me.
"I wish I could use Therapy-no-Jutsu," I muttered rebelliously, glaring down at my zanpakutō. It was in the shape of a thin black bladed katana inside a thick black scabbard. To help counteract its evilness I wrapped a pink ribbon around the scabbard and tied it off into an adorable pink bow on the hilt.
Even trying to cute-ify it didn't work too well. If I was a Shōnen Protagonist like Gon, Naruto, Ichigo, and so on I could use the all-mighty Therapy-no-Jutsu but I was not. I could not persuade my zanpakutō to not be an Evil™ bastard anymore than I could persuade Retsu to not be a crazy hot lady. That was simply how the world worked, whether I liked it or not.
That didn't mean I couldn't try. Hence the cute little pink bow on the zanpakutō, and I baked cookies for Retsu every time she got through a conversation with a fellow captain without oozing bloodlust.
Speaking of Retsu, the tall woman was practically glowering now.
All the Gotei 13 had gathered outside a rather impressive structure, along with our lieutenants and some of our soldiers.
The building in question was immaculate in design. A lot closer to the edo period (late 17th century for Japan) in design. The building had tall dark wooden walls, black tiled roofing that curved, and stone pathways around it. It was large in structure—about the size of a better off school in the 21st century—and it was accompanied by similar looking smaller structures.
That ensemble of buildings was Genryūsai's pride and joy.
We might have built a city—an impressive one at that—but that was more so on my end. I wasn't going to live in a world without basic plumbing and other necessities. Advancing technology to that point was risky business, but as long as I kept the technology from advancing too further it would be okay. It was annoying to have to keep an eye on any budding scientist, but it was the price to pay for having everyone bathe regularly. I also made sure that factories weren't a thing. I wanted to keep it handcrafted for as long as I could, so any time someone had the bright idea to build a steamrolling factory or some such nonsense I politely warned them. If they heeded my warning that was that, and if they did not then I cut their heads off.
I was good about murdering people without getting caught.
We had a good city. It was a lovely city, really, but Genryūsai didn't have much say in how it was built.
These buildings, though? They were the Shinigami Academy and Genryūsai designed and built them all on his own.
Ah, yes. The academy.
The academy was something we decided to open up a few years ago when we realized the soldiers under our command were little more than canon fodder.
Once Genryūsai thought about having other people train like he did, he absolutely had to make it happen. Students would be accepted into the academy if they could pass a simple test of using reiatsu, and would be provided food and shelter in one of the dorm rooms. The currently designed curriculum would have them in schooling for about five years. After graduating from the academy they would be inducted into a squad where they would continue to train under their captains.
The first part no one had an issue with.
The whole "training under their captain" was not something the other captains were too happy about.
Especially Retsu.
Especially Retsu.
The black-haired beauty was openly glaring at Genryūsai as my favorite student began his opening speech at the academy.
Genryūsai, who didn't look a day over eighteen despite being nearly three centuries old, proudly gave an enthusiastic speech about his hopes for the academy. The brown-haired man was lit with a fiery passion, his dark eyes lighting up with sincerity as he spoke. The once ragged boy was dressed in expensive shihakushō with his captain haori draped over top. It warmed my heart to see him come so far.
All the captains wore the shihakushō—the standard shinigami outfit which as composed of: a white shitagi, a black kosode and hakama, a pair of white tabi, a pair of waraji, and a white obi—but to set them apart from their soldiers they wore a white haori with their division number and symbol marked on them.
As I was the captain of the 5th division I wore a sleeveless haori with our insignia—Lily of the Valley—marked on it.
Retsu, that long black-haired blue-eyed lady, also wore her 11th division haori, but she kept the sleeves on hers.
The outfits were designed by the lovely Senjumara Shutara who left to joy the Royal Guard shortly before the creation of the academy. Senjumara even made the adorable pink bow for my zanpakutō.
"... and so, I am proud to officially declare Shinigami Academy is now open! The first day for our students will begin tomorrow. I hope all of you will provide proper support as need be," Genryūsai finished, a wide smile on his face.
We clapped at the end of his little speech. Except for Retsu who kept glaring at the school. If I didn't know any better I'd say she was tempted to burn it down.
Huh.
Actually—
"Retsu!" I cheerfully called out, breaking away from my squad and moving to sling an arm around Retsu's shoulders. Her dark blue eyes were colder than the North Pole as she turned her anger on me.
"Captain Rirī," she said evenly, coolly.
"I think you need to let off some steam. How about a spar?" I offered her, slowly steering her away from the academy.
That got a glimmer of warmth to enter her gaze. "Hmm."
"I'll make some BBQ afterward," I offered as an extra incentive.
That sealed the deal, and Retsu inclined her head to accept such. "If you insist, Captain Rirī."
Food was always an easy bribing tool. Especially good food.
'I think this life I should compete on Iron Chef. I would so kick ass.'
With Retsu now focusing her energy into a future spar, the academy was safe for today at least.
'Mental note: make sure Genryūsai sends Retsu out on a mission ASAP.'
(◕▾◕✿)
"Teacher," Genryūsai greeted me jovially, "Ah, and Captain Unohana, hello, I almost didn't see you there."
Retsu sharply glared up at Genryūsai as I slowly stitched back on her left arm using one of the kaidō techniques I developed—kaidō: 76 raifusutetchi (life stitch). A combination of reiatsu generated from the body, and pulling the vitality—physical energy—of the surrounding environment to form thick green thread that could be used to sew limbs back on. The infusion of vitality encouraged cellular regrowth that had to be monitored by an experienced healer.
It was good for closing larger wounds in battle, as once the stitch was inside it would continue to heal even without being monitored. Stupid to even try to do it without experience, as if vitality was forced into the body unchecked it could create mutation of the cells: cancer.
"Perhaps you'd care for a round, Captain Genryūsai?" Retsu brusquely asked.
"No, thank you," Genryūsai said, grinning widely at Retsu's mounting cold fury. "Would hate for Teacher to have to stitch you back up again so soon."
Genryūsai briefly chuckled at the spike of malicious intent Retsu directed right at him. Retsu haughtily turned away, her gaze refocusing on watching me heal her injuries. Retsu respected Genryūsai well enough to follow his head, but she was at loathe to address him as her superior. Genryūsai had picked up some of my wonderful habits of trolling and teasing those around him. The more he could infuriate them, the happier he was.
He ran his fingers through his brown spiky hair. "I have a long term mission for you, Unohana."
She did not outwardly acknowledge him.
"On the far east outskirts there's been a surge of violence," Genryūsai went on. "I want to establish an outpost there, but I need you to clear all the problem makers out. However long it takes."
Retsu gave a short nod, acknowledging and accepting the mission. "Fine. I'll take a rain check on the BBQ, Captain Rirī."
I cut off the stitch, ending the kaidō. "Okey dokey. Feeling better, at least?"
Retsu sneered at that, tossing an aggravated look at Genryūsai. "I still see no point in training fodder. The younger generation shows no promise."
"It can seem that way for now," Genryūsai allowed, "but you'll find your diamond in the rough soon enough."
That got a smile out of me, and Genryūsai tossed me a cheerful grin.
"Hmph. You're both sentimental fools," Retsu scoffed. "How you became so powerful is beyond me."
"For me it's because of my hair," I said, gesturing toward my long pink hair. "Pink hair gives me protagonist power and dooms me to tragedy if this was a magical girl world. Bit of a double-edged sword."
Retsu rolled her eyes, standing up and walking out of the training room. Genryūsai watched her leave for a moment before moving to me and pulling me back up.
"Speaking of double edged swords," Genryūsai said slowly, carefully. "Your lieutenant asked to be moved out for your squad. Again. What did you do?"
"Um. I—I did not dress him up like an animal and hogtie him to a tree before throwing said tree into a lake," I lied, refusing to meet Genryūsai's gaze. "Nor did I dress him up as a maid on multiple occasions."
"Uh-huh. And why would you... not do these things?"
"He may or may not have challenged my authority," I said. I looked away, whistling innocently.
It wasn't the first, nor would it be the last.
I was an old soul, and my form looked closer to an adolescent than an adult. It was so much easier to maintain a consistent shape the smaller I was. You would not believe the extra concentration it would require if I persistently gave myself an extra foot in height, or added on more mass than what was necessary. By consequence, I looked young. Late teens young. Too young to be a captain as far as many were concerned.
And, ah, yeah there was some sexism involved. It was really early on in humanity's development and Soul Society was largely basing itself off Japan's hierarchy.
Being a female—moreover being a short, pink-haired female with big eyes and a sweet voice—made people instantly underestimate me. It made for some fan-fucking-tastic trolling opportunities, but it also meant that most men would look down on me.
Those same men would not want to be in the same squad as me. I knew it. They knew I knew it. One snide remark too many and I turned their lives into hell until I (as always) broke them and they went sniveling to Genryūsai begging for a change.
Not all men were like that, of course! Those who stayed with me long enough, but still wanted a change for whatever reason, did so with my recommendation and encouragement. Those who treated me politely could receive extra training from myself, too, and many men under my command took advantage of this.
It was unfortunate that the more prejudiced soldiers currently outnumbered those with open minds. But! I knew time would fix that.
"Oh, Teacher," Genryūsai said with a shake of his head. "Well, maybe you should teach down at the academy. You might find someone better suited to be your lieutenant."
"Maybe," I allowed. "I'll teach if you need me to, but I think you should have the most hands on with the academy for now."
(◕▾◕✿)
300 a.d.
It took over three centuries of persistent grinding to finally find what I was looking for. To be frank, had I started this story in one of my earlier lives I doubted I would have the patience to pull this off. Probably would have taken over all the words, raising each them up as a different ruler, then pitted them against each other in a massive battle where only one world would survive.
... Maybe next time.
Actually no, yeah, I am so doing that if that Riddle-bastard makes me restart so far back again. Fuck! It was so BORING. Not to mention I really missed my dearest companion. He was born so much later, and having to wait for him was a special kind of agony. I was grateful I could at least form connections with Genryūsai and Retsu. If I had to go through all of these years alone I didn't think I could manage without falling into a bad slump.
I still missed him.
Sigh.
"Holy sweet berry loving Mew, blessed Arceus at last," I breathed out when I finally, FINALLY, spotted the two people I was looking for.
Took nearly four hundred years of searching but I was a patient and persistent soul.
I descended from the skies of Hueco Mundo, nearing my target. As I grew closer to them a sense of nausea washed over me, making me cringe.
Now such things might be considered normal except I didn't have anything close to a normal body. I was literally an amalgamation of spiritual energy condensed, reshaped, textured, and colored to only look like a human. My insides were 100% raw energy. I didn't feel, or even see the same way humans did.
I saw through the waves of light that bounced off other spiritu—er, I should really get used to using reiatsu, shouldn't I? I could "see" in a similar sense to how a bat saw, but through the waves of light bouncing and reacting to the reiatsu in the world. As a being of pure reiatsu, I was able to interpret the world in its purest forms of light, but I automatically filtered out certain colors since humans could only see a small percentage.
It'd be odd if I started talking about the color vol since the human mind literally couldn't comprehend it, and those around me might start getting confused.
A shame. The worlds around us were such a beauty to perceive in their natural state.
Human skin was practically a color of its own—a kaleidoscope of shimmering marvel.
Losing my point!
I didn't feel, or see, in a typical fashion.
So nausea was certainly an alarming sensation to have, as it meant that something was disrupting the binding of my reiatsu.
The discomfort only grew as I neared the duo, and I had to actively focus on keeping my human "skin" together and not slipping back into my natural state.
'Wow, these two really do have some crazy pressure!' I thought.
In the original Play Starrk and Lilynette were once the same Hollow. Hollows were deceased souls who lost their "heart." It was a touch vague, but essentially if a deceased soul lost hope they were overcome with despair and would transform into a Hollow. In the Play it was the Shinigami who purified these Hollows and set them free of that despair.
That was hogwash. Yeah, Shinigami eventually would go the we're here to heeeeeelp them, but it really started off with Hollows popping up in the Soul Society and causing havoc. The Soul King sent some created zanpakutōs back in time to stop the Hollows from overwhelming Soul Society and it became a whole thing. It was only in the past century that Shinigami acknowledged their zanpakutōs could purify Hollows.
Most Hollows spawned in Hueco Mundo after being transformed. The ones that didn't remained in either the Soul Society or in the Human Realm.
Starrk and Lilynette were a Hollow who was so powerful its mere presence killed any Hollow who tried to approach them. This made it so lonely that it split itself in two so it could have at least one person to talk to. Starrk retained most of the raw power, but Lilynette was someone who could withstand that power and stay by his side.
The two sat on the white sandy dessert, huddled in a black tattered cloak, and completely alone for thousands of years before Aizen approached them.
Time to switch it up.
"Yo!" I greeted them as soon as I landed in front of them, a big smile on my face. "I'm Rirī. Let's be friends!"
Starrk abruptly looked at me with wide, wide eyes. The future strongest Espada was at a loss of what to do with my greeting, but Lilynette was faster to the draw.
The small child offered me a shy smile. Her red eyes gleamed and her short mint colored hair bounced as she hopped over to me. "A friend?"
"The very best, dears," I said. "To commemorate our friendship, how about we play a game?"
"A game?" Starrk questioned, his voice low and cautious. It was impossible to miss the tinge of hope.
'Had they already been alone for that long? I've been looking for them for ages.'
"Shōgi to start with. It's nice and long," I answered, gleefully pulling out the board I had constructed with my own hands.
And that was how Starrk and Lilynette became my game buddies I'd hang out on the weekends to avoid dealing with the Soul Society drama.
'Shiny Hunt = Success!'
(◕▾◕✿)
Updates are as sporadic as Lilly.
Answer: Rukia or Orihime.
Question: Who would you FIRST want to meet from the Bleachverse?
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