It took Shiori a decade to find the boys after being repeatedly sent back into the past in the Quincy-exclusive dimension.
So, I entered a time-stopped limbo and prepared to spend a few centuries bonding with Jugram and Bazz. I made sure to dress myself in a simple dress a village girl might wear as to not immediately alert them I was an old soul posing as Shinigami posing as a Quincy.
Were they considered Quincies or pre-Quincies by that point? I didn't remember.
Give me a break, it had been—it had been—it had been so long ago that I first watched the story. I lost count of how much time had passed, and while I had tricks up my sleeve to remember some stuff it was only the broad strokes. I certainly couldn't tell you the minor details. I didn't even remember Ichigo's mom's name.
Shiori fluttered into existence around Jugram first, and then she opened our soul bond connection. She created an illusion of myself there, and an illusion of Jugram and the surrounding environment where I was in the pocket dimension.
A lot like a holoprojection or VR-interaction, but real enough that it was doubtful anyone would know the wiser. I couldn't physically interact with the world there. Hopefully, that wouldn't be too much of an issue.
She had apparently found Jugram in a quiet forest. We were at a small clearing with grass that stretched up past my waist and waved gently in the wind. The sun was above us, but it was starting to set which told me it was late afternoon or early evening.
Jugram jumped when I stepped out from behind the trees. He was maybe seven, and he clutched nervously at his bow and arrow.
"Hello, dear," I said, keeping my voice low and soothing. "Out hunting?"
"Who are you?" he warily asked.
"I'm Rirī," I introduced myself. "I'm a traveler."
The small, frail, blond boy shifted away from me, his blue eyes assessing me. My own form was small, and likely looked dainty. He must have decided I wasn't a threat because he relaxed after another minute.
"I'm Jugram Haschwalth," Jugram introduced himself. "I need to get back to hunting, so if you'll excuse me—"
"Want help?" I offered. "I'm very good at finding things."
"I—" Jugram fiddled with the bow. "If you... if you can find a rabbit or deer soon, then okay."
Shiori fluttered in front of me. The butterfly had excellent senses when it came to finding souls or living creatures.
"This is my familiar, Shiori," I introduced to the boy. "We just have to follow her."
Jugram was mesmerized by how pretty Shiori was and I couldn't blame him. She was a translucent butterfly whose wings dusted with ice that fell in the light like drops of rainbow. Shiori gracefully flew ahead of us and Jugram and I followed behind her.
As we walked, I quietly corrected Jugram's stance, telling him to keep his weight spread out more. He forgot several times, but he was able to keep his footsteps quiet enough that we could approach a deer.
His eyes were wide when he saw the deer and he immediately started to draw his bow.
"Ease up on your grip," I whispered to him. "A little higher, careful now. Hold it further away from your cheek, don't want to get cut. There, pull back now—"
He released the bow he had drawn and it landed straight through the deer's neck. He gasped in surprise, elation lighting up his face. "I did it! I did it!"
"Very good," I sweetly praised him. "This was fun. Do you want to go hunting again tomorrow?"
"Oh—is that okay?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes. I hope we can become friends."
He blushed at that, the sweet innocent child. "That'd be—that'd be nice. Um, you really know your stuff, huh?"
"I know a thing or two."
(◕▾◕✿)
We hunted together for another month, Jugram slowly warming up to me. It was easy to keep him amused, and as long as he found prey for his dinner the boy went back home with a big smile.
I asked about the bruises forming on him, but he was quick to change the subject. When I asked about his family, he was even quicker to talk about something else.
He liked asking me questions instead. He figured out pretty quick that I knew a lot of odd things, like different languages, and I had a plethora of stories. He was interested in learning Latin, as well as Greek, French, and English. He loved stories about underdogs becoming heroes, and he was grateful I took the time to consistently correct his stance.
He was happy he had someone to talk to while he trained and hunted alone.
It was evident that the boy had been lonely.
'Ahhh. I wish I could just take you back to Soul Society and raise you myself,' I griped to myself for the millionth time.
I was only an illusion there, though.
Our peaceful days were interrupted by the arrival of Bazz who had barreled into the clearing Jugram was training in to tell him he was hunting with him today.
Bazz did a double take when he saw me. As a fellow pink-haired anime character, we instantly shared a special connection.
By that I mean he scowled and demanded in a haughty tone, "Who are you?"
"I'm Rirī, Jugram's friend," I chirped. "Nice to meet you."
"I'm Bazzard! The Great Bazz! Why are you friends with this loser?"
"That's not very polite," I scolded him.
"It's true," Jugram quietly said.
"Jugram, don't let him call you a loser," I admonished. "You're far too adorable for such things."
Jugram's cheeks turned red and Bazz snorted. "That's stupid reasoning."
"You're stupid," I childishly retorted.
"Take that back, you little girl!"
'Oh, God, I haven't been called that in a while,' I winced. It made sense, though. I was tiny, dressed as a villager, and had a young-looking face. I probably looked close to their age, if a bit older. I couldn't exactly admit to them: Hey I'm a very old soul who is posing as a Shinigami posing as a Quincy to befriend you and convince you to not follow the genocidal racist in the future. K, thnx.
"I might be a little girl," I hissed through clenched teeth, not wanting to reveal my identity yet, "but I'm a little girl who you'll never catch."
Bazz scoffed then made a grab for me. I danced out of his way and stuck out my tongue in a clear taunt.
The game was on.
(◕▾◕✿)
Bazz made it a goal to try and catch me every time he was in the area. Jugram didn't do much to stop him, the timid boy kept agreeing that Bazz was better than him every time Bazz taunted him. It was hard to keep encouraging Jugram when he wouldn't truly accept my words, but I did my best. He was a nice child and deserved better.
Bazz was endearing the same way a drunk dwarf was endearing. Which meant he was hecka funny when riled up.
It was hilarious when he made a grab at me and missed. His ears would turn red, and his cheeks would puff out. His little tantrums were rather adorable. He clearly hadn't had to deal with a lot of obstacles or frustrations in his life yet, he was supposed to be a prodigy, after all. Although he was unaware that Jugram's gift of empowerment was what granted him a lot of power.
The three of us hunted together, trained together, and swapped stories. It went on in for a couple of years, the boys bright-eyed and endearing.
They reminded me of my students.
Eventually, three years passed.
Not much considering the time I had already spent in that universe, but it was three years with only those two boys as my company.
On a lovely evening, Jugram caught a few rabbits all by himself. His blue eyes were shining as he held one out to me and said, "Rirī, I've caught plenty this time, why don't you take one?"
I shook my head, smiling softly at Jugram. "Don't worry about it, Jugram-kun. Go home and eat your fill."
Bazz hopped into the clearing, triumphantly carrying a buck. "Heh. Only rabbits, Jugram?"
"Yes," Jugram pleasantly agreed. "I'm offering one to Rirī."
"She can take part of this buck. It's big enough to share," Bazz boasted.
"I'm sorry boys, I can't take either," I said with another shake of my head.
Bazz was perturbed. "How come? Don't you eat?"
'I guess it's been long enough.'
"I'm afraid I'm cursed," I half-lied-half-admitted to. "The Soul King cursed me so I can't—I can't touch anything in this world."
Their eyes widened in disbelief. Immediately, Jugram dropped the rabbits and grabbed my hand, but it went straight through since it was an illusion.
"How?" he whispered in disbelief.
"Why—why would—?" Bazz tried to grab me, and I didn't avoid him so he also passed through me. "All this time? What happened?"
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "I hope we can still be friends."
"Of course," Jugram was quick to reassure, his eyes darkening with anger and sadness. "I wish—is there anything we can do? Do you know how to undo the curse?"
"Only the Soul King can."
"That's bullshit," Bazz muttered, staring at his hand that had passed through me. His face was screwed up in fury. "I'll kick his ass!"
I giggled softly. "Careful, Bazz-kun. I wouldn't want you to be cursed, either."
"Rirī..." Jugram trailed off, his gaze downcast. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay. I'm sure one day I'll be able to properly hug you," I tried to reassure the kind child.
"H-Hug?" Jugram's face turned beet red and he straightened up. "O-O-Oh."
Bazz snorted, rolling his eyes. "You'll do more than that. We'll find a way, Rirī, just trust us."
"Okay," I placated them. I was tempted to just tell them to come to Soul Society, but I wasn't even sure they could. I had no idea how they crossed over in the invasion, it could have been something only Yhwach could make possible. Or maybe the Soul King had a barrier that would prevent them from going over without Yhwach. No clue.
(◕▾◕✿)
More years went by. The two boys were eager to keep me company, perhaps out of pity that I was unable to leave the clearing—as far as they knew.
It was rather peaceful. Certainly very relaxing, which made the time slip by like a pleasant dream. After the boys went home at the end of the day I would linger in the clearing that I had originally met Jugram in, then disappear for a handful of seconds as I forced time to bring us forward to the next day. One day at a time, the march went on.
I taught Jugram several languages, and he had become superb at the bow and arrow under my tutelage. Bazz picked up my penchant for story telling and memorized some of his favorite fantasy adventures I told.
The boys were growing up, while I stayed the same.
Some days I could see the hurt in their eyes; the pity.
It was nice of them to care so much, but it wouldn't do them much good.
On bad days they would argue. On good days they would laugh.
On terrible days they would come to me with bruises and sad smiles.
On the best days, they stayed out all day and night to keep me company.
I wasn't sure exactly how long I stayed in that world. Time passed differently in that special little pocket dimension. All I knew was that in what felt like a blink of an eye the boys had become teenagers.
Jugram blushed when I giggled, and Bazz's voice cracked when he got too excited. They both were eager to prove themselves, albeit Jugram was more reserved in showing it.
Things were going well. Perhaps I could take a break to try and figure out how to bring them over into the Soul Society. If I could take some time to research how Yhwach crossed over in the first place, I could tell the boys to run away before Yhwach ever found them.
They could come to the Soul Society and I would take them under my wings. I'd remove two players from Yhwach's game before he even had a chance to grab them.
I knew Yhwach wouldn't expect it.
He could only see the timelines tied to that one dimension we were in. He could only see the one realm, the one reality of the Bleachverse. He could see deviations of it, but they all had to remain in that one realm.
That one realm no longer existed because I was there. I did not belong here, and his sight would not work any better on me than it would on Superman or Nagash.
Arguably even more so because I was Blessed, and he was but a fragment of a fragment.
I had high hopes. My hard work over the past years seemed like it was going to bear fruit.
And then shit hit the fan.
(◕▾◕✿)
One day, I moved to the next just as I normally did but it turned out to be a very bad day. A terrible day. The worst day.
"Rirī!" Jugram entered the clearing I normally appeared in, smiling with relief. "I was worried... you're not hurt?"
"Hurt?" I echoed, looking the teenager up and down. I noticed his clothes were torn and singed.
'Um... Oh! Right. Yhwach takes over all the villages to build his kingdom of racism. He must have attacked their village earlier then.'
"I'm fine," I reassured him, offering him a comforting smile. "Are you? Did you get hurt?"
"I'm okay now—actually—I'm better than okay," said Jugram softly, his eyes clouding. "Rirī, I need to tell you something."
"Okay?" I asked, a little concerned at where it was going.
'Wait... if Yhwach attacked the village... did he... did he already recruit Jugram?'
He moved to touch me, then looked even sadder that he could not. Absurdly sad. Sadder than I had ever seen him. He looked like a kicked puppy who lost its entire family. Oof. It hurt to look at him he was so dang sad.
"Um." I stared at him, alarmed by how open he was displaying his emotions. He hadn't been one to show such a vulnerable side. Even on the bad days he did his best to put on a fake smile for me.
"I have to go, Rirī."
"Why?"
"I've met someone. A great man that I respect. He's taking me on his conquests."
"Please don't," I blurted out. All that time spent warming up to him in his childhood would be meaningless if he just went to Ywacha! I wouldn't be able to visit him if he stayed near him because of the added barrier Dickwad Soul King added.
"I'm sorry," Jugram told me, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Rirī, visiting you was the only thing that got me through the nights. I—how I feel for you will never change."
"Then don't go!"
"I must. He might... I might be able to find a way to save you. Goodbye, Rirī... I hope... I hope you can forgive me."
I wanted to cry. All that effort. All those years were about to go down the drain. Tears of frustration picked at my eyes. Jugram looked positively heartbroken as he left.
'What the fuck? And why did that sound like he broke up with me or something?'
Bazz stepped out next, looking worse for wear than Jugram. He had a sad smile on his face as I turned to look at him disbelief.
"Not you too," I bemoaned.
"Sorry, Rirī," he apologized, his tone surprisingly gentle. "When—when we have the power to take you with us, we'll come back."
"What's that supposed to mean? Just don't go—"
But he left too.
'DAMN IT.'
(◕▾◕✿)
"I am fucking exhausted," I groaned as I left the time stasis and hopped back into the Now Soul Society. Genryūsai had apparently been waiting for me in my kitchen as he was raiding my cookie jar.
He looked at me, looked down at the cookies in his hands, then wordlessly offered one to me.
"Why are you exhausted already?"
"You cram fifteen years in an hour and see how you feel," I grumbled, accepting the cookie. "I need cuddles."
Genryūsai wordlessly held up his arms and I hugged my student. "There, there, Teacher. There, there."
"I think I got dumped, too."
"What?"
"Yeah. It's been a crazy hour."
"I didn't know you were dating anyone. I thought you were waiting for your future husband to be reborn."
"I didn't know I was dating him either."
"Oh, Teacher..."
(◕▾◕✿)
What happened with Jugram and Bazz?
Did Rirī get one-sidedly dumped?
Can Yhwach's powers even work on her or does the troll have a trolly plan in mind?
Will the Soul King get its soap opera it so desperately craves this time around?
Tune in several dozen chapters later for those answers. Onwards, we march closer to the start!
Answer: Deredere.
Question: Has anyone else had to mentally break up with an anime/game/book crush when you get a new crush? Nope? Just me? Shit. Okay, longest anime/game/book crush you've had?