Disclaimers: See end notes or Disclaimers Page.
Originally written on or before 09/28/2009, Revised 03/31/2022
天国的白雪公主
Opening Theme: Rewrite by Asian Kung-Fu Generation
Ending Theme: Kyouka Suigetsu (Aizen Character Song)
Bleach: Cross
Across the Dimensions
The Formal Vow Arc
Soul of Shirahime
By Eugena
Rated M Version
Chapter One: Repentance
天国的白雪公主
Mayuri Kurotsuchi Voice Over:
Previously on Bleach: Across the Dimensions:
Is it possible to love a god? Does one love them or is simply enamored with their divinity?
There was a time I believed that all things existed for my experiments – willingly or not.
Then I discovered no experiment could chain a god.
The reincarnation of Heaven’s Princess walked among us. She fought Aizen and died. She was reincarnated again. This time, she returned as fifth division taicho, a position Sou Taicho only thought of as honorary. Much to his annoyance, she didn’t seem to be vacating that position anytime soon.
Until that night.
I could not sleep with thoughts of her in my mind. I thought only to check on her, but passing by the tenth division, I saw her visit Hitsugaya. There she stayed. And there I learned that Hitsugaya was not as young as he pretended to be.
If I had a heart, I would say it was trampled upon by the knowledge she would never spend the night with me as she had him.
If I listened to my rational self, I would have realized she finally decided to return to the royal family. I would have insisted she leave that place I followed her to. Then perhaps she wouldn’t be at the non-existent mercy of Gin Ichimaru.
Ichimaru could destroy my body, but I would come back. Should she die, she will never again return.
天国的白雪公主
HUECO MUNDO – AN INDOOR CHAMBER
Gin Ichimaru returned to his captives. His eyes were wider than their usual slits, all part of his ruse to make the woman comfortable. As she breathed in and out in ragged breaths, he recalled how she looked before the battle. Such a regal woman, Thorne Shirahime Taicho looked the same as she would have long ago during her time in the royal family. Such a pleasure and an honor it was to Ichimaru to fight full-blooded royalty.
He reached out to her, cupping her chin. Elevating his reiatsu slightly, he smiled reassuringly to her. “I’m good at some kido.” Her breathing evened slightly, a small measure of relief against the intense pain she felt. He leaned in closer, having finally given in to the feelings he had suppressed so long. She could not struggle this time.
“Leave her alone!” rasped the man across from them.
Ichimaru shot a cold glance back at Kurotsuchi Mayuri Taicho, glaring at him in his pathetic state. Mayuri appeared as he did after he regenerated from his ooze form, naked, only his yellow eyes remaining a reminder of his usual visage. All the barriers in the makeshift prison suppressed his spiritual power and left him only a shell of his usual self.
[Alternative M Version Begins Here:]
“My, my, taicho,” Ichimaru taunted. “You are in no position to threaten. You haven’t even clothed yourself properly. How rude in the presence of such royalty. “
Ichimaru returned his attention to Shirahime. “Now where were we?”
Shirahime spit at him. He wiped it off in amusement.
“Is that all you have left?” Ichimaru asked. “You are nothing but a pathetic human after all.” He turned back to Mayuri. “You should find this quite interesting, Mayuri. After all, you always do love experiments. How many times have you experimented on a human woman? How far did you go?” He paused, watching Mayuri’s anger build. “Have you ever been with a woman or are you just too awkward?”
Incoherent rage filled Mayuri’s head. A cascade of memories rushed past him. Not long ago, he had met with his former taicho, Kisuke Urahara. “You still don’t understand?” Kisuke asked him. “You have Nemu, but you don’t know what it means to have a child? You may have created her, but surely some part of you would care if she gets hurt?” Kisuke looked at Yoruichi and the new fifth division taicho talking together in the distance. “Even with Aizen exposed, I can never go back to Soul Society. I can never be there to watch over her.” He took off his hat and folded it on his chest, bowing his head slightly. “I have no right to ask anything of you, but please take care of her for me. One day, maybe you will understand.”
Strange that Mayuri could ever feel something like love. Even his old taicho, whom he still admired, acknowledged that he was a genius at the expense of decency and ethics. He had sacrificed four of his own division members in his first attempt to capture Uryuu and Orihime—and he thought nothing of it. They were expendable, like everyone in his division. His division existed for his research. Nemu could be rebuilt. Yet then, there was Shirahime. All the taichos knew she could never be reincarnated again. This had been the last time.
So, she agreed to marry the current crown prince of the royal family, Shiroyuki. Her human life would always be insignificantly short to that of a shinigami’s and certainly that of one of the royal family. Mayuri suspected why she really agreed.
No matter, Shirahime would die and never return.
Mayuri could die, and he would return some day.
Mayuri returned his thoughts to Ichimaru. “My desire to be with a woman has never made me so weak.”
Ichimaru merely laughed and his reiatsu forced Mayuri to his knees. Ichimaru turned back to her.
“You must have a death wish,” she taunted. “Touch me, and Aizen will kill you.”
“What he doesn’t know won’t bother him.”
Shirahime laughed. “Aizen, not know? Now I really think you are stupid.”
Mayuri tried to slow his breathing. Either Shirahime was being smart on her approach, or this would destroy her. She was right about Aizen, no question.
“Suki will kill you,” Shirahime vowed.
Ichimaru backed off, confused at the name.
“Yes, Suki. I remember now. I’ve begun remembering. In some other life, I knew him. I don’t know where, but now I understand why he keeps calling my son his own. Suki is what I called him then.”
“Just be quiet,” Ichimaru snapped. “Or I’ll help you with that, too. This may be worth his wrath.”
Mayuri kept struggling to free himself.
“Calm down, Kurotsuchi,” Ichimaru told him.
“Aizen is a powerful god, hime-sama. A lowly human can’t keep his interest that long.”
Shirahime never before wanted Aizen to appear so badly. If she began to remember that past life with him now; perhaps he did, too.
“I think maybe Suki will do something far more interesting than kill you.”
“It may be worth it, after all, if he gets tired of you, he may just take Orihime for his mate instead. In that case, he won’t mind me.”
Mayuri continued to pull at his physical bindings, willing his wrists to be cut off if he could pull it off. Then he would have the barrier to deal with.
Shirahime struggled to keep her expression neutral, not wishing to betray any weakness. “If you don’t care of about Suki, then remember who will mind this. Rangiku will.”
He backed off as if her words had literally struck him across the face. His partial kido flickered out of existence, and Shirahime felt the full force of the pain return.
“You still love her. Are you so eager to give up on her?”
“You don’t know what love means,” he sneered.
Mayuri struggled again and again at the restraints. They were as if enhanced by formidable royal powers, but even Shirahime could not break free. No matter what Ichimaru did to her, she did not cry out. She kept her words as her weapon.
Until that name came off her lips. She begged Shiroyuki to appear. He could have hated himself for being this weak, for being so weak, she would call on the family who had ruined her countless times over. Never before had he honestly wanted the royal family to appear.
He could hear the strain in her voice, her body wearing down in exhaustion. She had but a few more taunts left. Aizen, Zaraki, and several royal guards.
Then it clicked. Only Zaraki would have been accepted by her. So many of the high ranking shinigami had thought they understood what the guards had done to her in that month away. Now he could no longer irrationally deny the truth.
Mayuri kept adding people to his kill list. Starting with Aizen, wanting to rip him apart for both using her and giving Ichimaru something powerful enough to subdue him. Yet today he saw red and wanted to see Ichimaru bleed dry.
In the midst of his victory, Ichimaru leaned closer to her. He described Hinamori and Aizen together. Ichimaru wondered if she would finally feel betrayed to know what all her loyal fukutaicho had really given to Aizen.
“Never,” she said calmly. “Suki has only been interested in me. That will never change.”
天国的白雪公主
SOUL SOCIETY – TENTH DIVISION – HITSUGAYA TAICHO’S ROOM
[Alternative M Version Scene:]
Toshiro Hitsugaya slept, his mind on everything that happened recently.
Not too long ago, he became educated in certain adult matters. Certainly, that incident when the “Fifth Division” was “In the Red*” did that. He went from simply being in love to wanting to have that sort of relationship with her. Though he hated his “adult” self, that was secretly his real self, he knew he could not deny it much longer. Shirahime would be close, but not as close as he wanted. She already knew his secret. He hoped it would be enough that she knew. But it wasn’t. When she came to him, his world was never the same.
In the present, Toshiro dreamed. Shirahime was there.
Suddenly Gin Ichimaru appeared and pushed Toshiro away.
Toshiro shot up in his bed. His guilt melted into anxiety.
He took off to the eleventh division.
(* A pun on the actual title of this Bleach: Cross adventure.)
天国的白雪公主
HUECO MUNDO – AN INDOOR CHAMBER
[Alternative M Version Scene:]
Ichimaru picked up his zanpakuto, Shinzo. “Time to be quiet.” He unsheathed Shinzo and struck her across her face with its hilt. She laughed weakly.
The crushing force of his lips against hers sickened her.
She caught a weak thread of her power. She harnessed it, that power she possessed in the previous life she had with Aizen. Though right now she knew little, Ichimaru’s actions were enough to spark that life to the surface.
“First Revival.”
Ice shot out from her bound hands. It surrounded Ichimaru but flickered. She didn’t have enough strength.
Enraged, Ichimaru thrust Shinzo through her already broken chest.
Mayuri screamed, finally breaking through enough restraints to stand to his feet. He was still unable to move any closer.
Blood pooled at the sides of her mouth.
“Now, princess, you can be quiet. You don’t need to feel any more pain if you play along. But you don’t have to. Orihime can heal you later.”
“You are really a fool,” she said through struggling gasps of breath. “Orihime’s tricks never worked on me.”
He stopped, stunned at her words. Of course, he knew that, but he had been so angry he hadn’t thought of it before.
“Time to repent, Gin.” She managed one final smile, catching the reiatsu of both that unknown past life and the one as Shirayukihime no Tenjou. She called upon her bankai: “Kouten.”
The force knocked Ichimaru unconscious, and he flew backwards across the room, crashing into the opposite wall. Mayuri fell to his knees. Ichimaru’s barriers and spells broke, finally freeing Mayuri.
After the explosive force cleared, Mayuri rushed to Shirahime’s side. Even though Shirahime’s zanpakutos had been taken from her, just as Mayuri’s had, she could still summon the bankai of Yukihime. After all, she was Yukihime. Mayuri cradled Shirahime in his arms, tears forming at last. He had never cried before.
“You show me your weakness after all. You aren’t just a mad scientist. And that’s your real strength.”
“Hush now,” he said. “We are leaving.”
“I know. That’s alright, but I’m too weak to leave anyway. I won’t let you go alone.” She looked into herself, at the saddened spirit of Shirayukihime. She reached out for her, asking for her power once more.
“Revive. Last Revival, Yukihime no Tenjou.” She reformed the Yukihime zanpakuto beside her. Her breathing became more labored.
“Stop,” Mayuri begged. “Please stop.”
Her eyesight began to fail. “This is what it’s like to lose someone.”
“Reform Kosetsu.” Kosetsu Ryu, identical in appearance to the White Zangetsu, appeared next to Yukihime.
“No more.”
She nudged Yukihime closer to him. “One more time.” She reached up to his face, barely touching his skin. “So, this is what it really feels like. I knew there was a real you behind the mask.” Time slowed for Mayuri as he felt her body grow lighter and her hand fall from his face.
“Final Revival, Revival of the Dead, Shirayukihime no Tenjou.”
天国的白雪公主
AUTHOR’S NOTE – DISCLAIMER:
This work is a transformative fanwork, written for entertainment purposes only and not for profit. Canon characters and backstories are copyright to Tite Kubo and applicable others. Original characters and original backstories are created by Eugena. The backstories of several canon characters and some canon elements have been significantly modified for the purposes of this fanwork. These modified characters and modified elements should not be taken as canon from the original Bleach and may not necessarily reflect Bleach’s copyright holder’s original intentions. Works rated M or MA are not intended to be read by minors.
This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this work are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
The author hopes this work will help readers further enjoy the original Bleach.
谢谢你们的阅读。