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hibiscusangel15 · 2 years

Text

Lure

Aye, let me tell ye a tale of the mysterious merfolk and the two foolish mortals that fell for one of the creatures...

Cover art done by @uniformshark for @thewhisperingdeep Bleach zine!

Summary: Creatures of myth and legend had no place on a research venture. The subsequent capture of a vicious merman proves Kurosaki Ichigo and Kurosaki Rukia otherwise. Originally written for The Whispering Deep: MerMay zine!

Rating: Teen and Up

Category: Multi, M/F, M/M (GrimmIchiRuki)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Magic and Science, Polyamory, Mutual Pining

Also available on AO3!

Spreading the GrimmIchiRuki agenda, one AU at a time! I came up with the idea for this fic almost as soon as I saw the 'zine open Interest Checks haha. The mods have gone all out for this 'zine and it's utterly gorgeous. Be sure to check out the AO3 collection for even more amazing Bleach and BNHA MerMay fics!

Unearthly cries echoed from the stern of the ship. The Kurosakis hurried along in their pajamas to the top deck. Kurosaki Rukia was used to abrupt calls in the middle of the night, having been an on-call veterinarian once upon a time. Her husband lagged behind her, still struggling to put on his shoes.

Several members of the crew scrambled past them to wake up other researchers. Unintelligible snippets about some kind of beast tangled in the nets floated around the ship. Most were drowned out by the harsh clang of boots against catwalks and the ever-present howls of whatever was on deck.

Once they surfaced, Ichigo nearly barreled into his wife. All the sailors swearing and yelling ahead of them tore his gaze port-side. A writhing blue mass in a mesh net slowly drew higher. The mechanical winch whirred into overdrive as it thrashed even harder in its panic. The creature’s all-black eyes were marked by the glowing blue of its irises. It briefly met his own, not desperate or confused, but brimming with hatred as it scratched out at the net with its claws. It was no use. The reinforced steel fibers would not snap so easily.

Without thinking, Ichigo grabbed his wife’s hand. Rukia too was transfixed as she studied this monster that should not exist. It did not make any of this feel real.

A high-pitched snicker snapped them out of their stupor. Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the Head Researcher for this venture, cracked a wide smile. “How intriguing. When I was first assigned to this project, I assumed they thought I was mad and wanted to ship me off. Now I see I am the only one qualified to study such a fantastical creature.”

The sailors lowered the net into a large tank where it finally let the creature go. Before it jumped back into the ocean, two burly crewmen slammed the top shut. Even from behind the glass, they could hear its furious shriek. It slammed itself against the bulletproof glass over and over again, to no avail. Eventually one of the sailors had to open a hatch and dart it with a tranquilizer to stop it from injuring itself.

It was only then that Ichigo and Rukia inched closer to the tank. After months of catching and tagging nothing but the spare marlin or salmon shark, this bright blue beast of myth seemed almost too good to be true. It was a gorgeous creature up close. Long hair the color of a clear sky, stripes of navy blue and white climbing up the sides of its tail and ending past its webbed hands. Its tail was like that of a shark, strong and covered in jagged fins.

It pushed itself up, baring its teeth the moment it caught Rukia’s eye. After thrashing uselessly one last time, it slumped to the bottom of the tank.

One of Kurotsuchi’s assistants whispered something in her ear. One glance from her, and he knew to let her go.

A quick meeting had been called in the conference room deep in the hull. The place was in an uproar. Other marine biologists argued with the captain of the ship, but apparently, he was just as in the dark about the situation as the rest of them.

Head Researcher Kurotsuchi slammed an ashtray repeatedly on the glossy wooden table to call for order. “Will you all cease this useless prattle? All your voices are grating on my nerves.”

One of the military officers hired onto the project, one Matsumoto Rangiku, slammed her fist down on the table. “Kurotsuchi, how can you act so calm at a time like this?”

“Calm?” he repeated. “I am most certainly not calm. Why, can’t you tell I’m as giddy as a little boy on his birthday.”

His placid expression seemed to say otherwise.

Ichigo finally spoke up. “We signed on to study a new species, not a mythical creature. This isn’t anywhere near any of our areas of expertise.”

Some of the other marine biologists on board echoed his sentiments. Even a few of the soldiers murmured their agreement.

“Why, that’s not true at all, Kurosaki-kun,” a sly voice piped up. He’d been quiet until now, reveling in the chaos from his plush leather chair. “You were all chosen for this job for a reason. In fact, I’d say this creature we caught looks somewhat like a shark. You and your wife study sharks, no?”

The other researchers parted to reveal a silver-haired man in a sharp gray suit. Ichimaru Gin always seemed to be smiling at some hidden joke.

Ichigo frowned. “Yeah, but a merman? The lab was set up to contain regular saltwater fish. I have no idea if trapping it here will have direct effects on its constitution or if the tank is even suited to its needs. Tranquilizing it the way those sailors did was reckless. We don’t know if it had adverse effects on its health or if—”

“As far as I can tell, it’s doing just fine, Ichigo,” a familiar voice said behind him. Kurosaki Rukia stood in the doorway, her trusty assistant hovering behind her with several papers in his arms.

“Rukia,” he breathed. Just having her nearby put him at ease.

“Ah, Kurosaki-kun,” Ichimaru said. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Her eyes lingered on Ichigo before turning back to Ichimaru. “Before I give you my report on its vitals, I think we all would like to know exactly why we were hired for this mission, Ichimaru-san. I was already quite suspicious when we weren’t given the exact details of the new species in question at the start.”

Ichimaru’s grin only grew wider. “Why would you think I know more than any of you? I’m only here to ensure that Hueco Mundo’s business venture doesn’t go astray. It looks like we’ve all gotten in over our heads here.”

Matsumoto sighed. “Gin, enough playing around. What’s going on here?”

Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku had always been open about her fraught relationship with Hueco Mundo Pharmaceuticals’ marketing director. Most of the crew hated being anywhere near him at the best of times. Still, it was nice to know that someone could soften his wily nature, if only for a moment.

Ichimaru’s smile fell a bit. “I am telling the truth, you know. All I was told was that if we were lucky enough to find this new species—whatever it was—it would increase the company’s equity exponentially. Nothing more, really.”

For the rest of the crew, this venture was a contract. Just another job.

For Ichimaru Gin, it was practically a paid vacation. He had come under the guise of protecting this potential investment, sure, but he didn’t seem to have anything better to do outside of tormenting the crew.

“What is that thing, anyway?” the captain of the ship finally asked, his voice quivering. He was a broad man who looked like he’d lived through his fair share of storms on the open seas. “A product of pollution the company is trying to cover up? Some weird experiment that escaped?”

Ichimaru picked this topic up with a renewed glee. “Goodness, you all dove to conspiracy theories quite fast. I’m almost impressed. But tell me, captain, why would Hueco Mundo bother to dump pollution out in the middle of the ocean?”

“Hueco Mundo would have made us sign an NDA form of some kind if that were the case,” Kurotsuchi pointed out. “Besides, I don’t know why you’re all so afraid of this creature. As fellow researchers, surely you’d all jump at the chance to study something new.”

The crew exchanged uneasy glances. None of them really wanted to be associated with Kurotsuchi, either. He fit the mad scientist bill in every way imaginable.

“When we hired you all on for this project, admittedly, I had no idea what sort of creature we were looking for,” Ichimaru said, surveying the startled crew in front of him. “Kurosaki-kun and…Kurosaki-kun, as our resident shark experts, I think it’s best you work with the creature for now. The rest of the researchers can provide additional support—”

A howl battered its way to the conference room. The tranquilizer should have knocked the creature out for a solid hour or so. The thing had only been out for fifteen minutes.

Without a second thought, Ichigo, Rukia, and their young assistant, Hanatarō, rushed to their lab. Alarms blared from every corner of the room. The creature had ripped the EKG wires from its chest and now thrashed around in the water, hands squeezed tight over its ears. They rushed to turn the screaming machines off. It was no use. The merman continued to slam himself against the glass.

“We need to calm him down or he’s going to kill himself!” Rukia tossed a catchpole to Hanatarō as he flew up the steps. Just as Ichigo began drawing a sedative from a small vial, she pried another catchpole from storage and trailed after Hanatarō.

Undoing the top latches of the tank through the gap in the catwalk could be tricky, but Hanatarō managed to pry them open. When the creature grinned, it was then, too late, Ichigo realized their mistake.

It yanked the catchpole forward and poor Hanatarō fell into the water. For one dreaded moment, both Ichigo and Rukia thought it would tear him to shreds.

It shot out of the tank faster than they could blink. Ichigo was knocked to the ground and the syringe shattered.

The merman’s claws dug deep into his shoulders. He barely had time to wince before its jaw unhinged. An ear-piercing roar split the air.

Ichigo had been face-to-face with plenty of sharks as a marine biologist. Several of the more aggressive species nearly took bites out of him at one point or another.

None of those experiences held a candle to this.

“Ichigo!”

It whirled over to the source of the voice. Rukia stopped in her tracks, not even daring to blink as it shifted over to her.

Ignoring the pain flaring in his shoulders, Ichigo grabbed hold of its tail before the creature could lurch for his wife. The tips of its claws sliced through the edges of his bangs when it swatted back at him.

Rukia snatched up a new syringe, fingers steady from years of practice as she drew out a few milligrams of sedative.

Suddenly, the creature cried out, not in anger but pure anguish. Its gills opened and shut rapidly. It couldn’t breathe.

Ichigo swore under his breath. The moment he brushed its webbed fingers, the creature slapped its tail against his stomach. He stumbled, grasping at the metal table behind him for balance.

Its tail suddenly split down the middle with a sickening crack. Once alien cries began to sound more and more human. As it continued to struggle, two legs broke through the seam in the tail, kicking it away.

All went still.

In the middle of the lab, surrounded by scattered papers and broken glass, laid not a dead merman, but a human. He heaved a shuddering breath and opened his eyes. The jet black receded, leaving only pale blue irises and pupils flitting around.

For all his ferocity, the man was alarmingly beautiful. The former merman reached out for his tail with trembling fingers. It was too far and he was so, so tired. Finally, his head lolled back.

The silence felt so much louder than all the noise that came before.

The rest of the crew had clambered to the lab in time to witness yet another odd miracle—another impossibility made real.

“How fascinating.”

Kurotsuchi, as always, was the first to speak. His mouth twisted into an unsettling grin as he stepped closer to the merman’s fallen form. “It seems the Kurosakis are not the only ones qualified to study this creature, after all.”

* * *

Priorities shifted in a muddled haze. Kurotsuchi’s team wasted no time in fitting the merman into what looked an awful lot like a prison jumpsuit, if only for decency’s sake. His hair was also cut into a choppy, spiky mess.

Frequent reports of the merman’s stubborn refusal to let anyone touch him afterwards reached the Kurosakis. The two-way glass cell prevented the merman from looking out at his captors. Instead, he often huddled in the corner, refusing to even touch the blanket and pillow provided.

“Has he eaten anything yet?” Ichigo asked when he found his wife standing outside the cell.

Rukia shook her head. “Hanatarō-kun keeps trying. To put it delicately, this merman’s pissed.”

He snorted. His wife hadn’t been this crude when they first met. Call it his bad influence. Her brother would be horrified at her language.

“I would be, too, if I was abducted by a bunch of scientists who took away my skin.”

She didn’t smile. Admittedly, it was a weak attempt at a joke.

“You mind if I try? I’m not sure if he’ll understand me, but I don’t want him to starve himself.”

Rukia patted his arm and stepped back. The cell doors opened with a faint hiss after he input the code: his wife’s birthday.

The former merman immediately scrambled back to the furthest corner of the cell.

“Hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

It sounded like a lie despite all his best intentions. Ichigo sat as far from the other man as he could to show he wasn’t a threat.

“My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. Can you understand me?”

The man narrowed his eyes.

“I got you some food,” Ichigo persisted as he pushed the plate forward. “My wife’s assistant told me you haven’t been eating, so…”

After a moment of searching for the right words to say, he took one sliver of sashimi and chewed thoughtfully. “It’s not great, but it’s the best we have. Decent, at least.”

Not poisoned.

The man’s blue eyes flickered down to the plate. Ichigo didn’t dare move for fear even the slightest shift might set him off.

Suddenly, the man darted forward, limp legs dragging behind him. Maybe he wasn’t used to them yet. Maybe he refused to use them.

The man shoveled the sashimi into his mouth. His teeth were relatively normal by human standards. Outside of his particularly sharp canines, anyway.

Ichigo was struck by the harsh scar running along the side of his face. It was faded, almost silver in the fluorescent lights. He couldn’t have gotten that from when he was captured. Then again, they had no idea how fast merpeople healed after an injury.

“G…Grimmjow.”

Ichigo blinked. “Huh?”

The man scowled. “My name.”

“Wait, so you can speak! Where did you learn to talk?”

He made the mistake of leaning in closer. Grimmjow snarled, a low rumble from deep in his chest, before he retreated back to the far corner of the glass cage.

Ichigo continued to sit there uncertainly until Grimmjow muttered, “Where did you put my tail?”

His tail had been a point of contention among everyone for the past few hours. They all argued over how to handle studying it. Kurotsuchi wanted to dissect it right away. Everyone shot the idea down. There was no telling what cutting up the creature’s tail would do to it.

The only thing everyone could agree on was to conduct more research. Mostly by pooling their knowledge of mermaid myths together to merge new fact with previous fiction.

“If you want the truth, we stored it in the saltwater tank. I didn’t want it to dry out.”

The tension fell from Grimmjow’s shoulders a bit. Then he scowled once more, as if to cover it up. “Che, at least you humans did something right. If you destroy my tail, there’s no way I can go back.”

Back where? Are there more of you? Ichigo wanted to ask him. A researcher’s one weakness. It was the only reason the crew was still out here. If one merman could be found, who was to say they couldn’t capture another?

“Why’re you telling me this?” he asked instead.

Grimmjow turned to face the wall. “You’ve got an honest face. Dumb, wide-eyed. Like a tuna.”

“Hey!”

“You won’t tell anyone.”

How could he be so sure? He didn’t even know him.

And yet, there was such an assured confidence in his voice. Ichigo hated that this creature saw right through him.

“I won’t. I promise you.”

Grimmjow snorted. “Like I said.”

* * *

Ichigo then took Grimmjow’s meals to him on a regular basis. He was the only human on-board Grimmjow seemed to tolerate. That was, until Rukia slowly integrated herself into their shared meals.

When it was clear that she too would leave him be, Grimmjow began to speak more to her. Her determination to teach him to walk and her fixing up his hair a bit probably helped her case, too.

He was a lot more crass than either of them thought a merman could be. Apparently, he’d learned curse words from yakuza members that regularly dumped evidence near where he liked to reside. The Kurosakis never asked to hear more about that.

Kurotsuchi and a few other researchers insisted on installing a camera within the cell to garner more information. Both Ichigo and Rukia shut each attempt down swiftly. They’d made precarious progress with the merman as it was. If they broke that tentative trust now, he’d never speak to them again.

The crew grew antsier the longer the ship scoured the same bit of ocean. It had only been a week and a half since they first caught Grimmjow. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that other merpeople, should more exist, exercise caution around human ships.

Kurotsuchi’s impatience got the better of him, and one night, the Kurosakis woke up to the sound of Grimmjow’s screams.

Ichigo tore down the hall to where the tail was stored while Rukia broke off to Grimmjow’s cell. The crew had strapped the writhing tail down to a table. Stark red bloomed through the small incision cut into its middle.

Kurotsuchi brandished a scalpel, more annoyed at the interruption than anything. “Who let you in here? Nemu, I thought I told you to lock the door.”

His daughter bowed. “I apologize, sir.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Kurotsuchi?” Ichigo snapped, stepping forward. “We still don’t understand how merpeople biology works, and you want to cut open his tail?”

“Have you forgotten that we were hired to research this new species?” Kurotsuchi scoffed. “Do you honestly expect me to wait around for another opportunity to arise? Or were you planning to keep your little pet all to yourself?”

Ichigo grit his teeth. “He’s not anyone’s pet. He doesn’t belong to anyone.”

“Yes, well, it appears as though dissection is no longer a viable option. This link between the creature and its tail is most peculiar. Perhaps I can satisfy myself with studying that, for now. But first…”

Kurotsuchi jabbed a syringe into the tail, drawing out a small vial of red blood.

“Ichimaru-san put me and Rukia in charge of studying him,” Ichigo snapped as Kurotsuchi and the rest of his research crew stalked past him. “If you want to get anywhere near him or his tail again, you better ask us for clearance next time.”

An alarmingly wide grin stretched across Kurotsuchi’s face. “Perhaps I’ll take this up to Ichimaru then. If you and your wife refuse to engage in any worthwhile research, why bother calling yourselves scientists at all? I’m sure Hueco Mundo won’t mind if I perform a few experiments on it, were I in charge.”

Ichigo took several shaky breaths in and out. It took everything in him not to punch that smug bastard scientist in the face.

The tail flopped weakly on the metal table. “Sorry, Grimmjow,” he whispered as he hauled it back in its tank.

It sank to the bottom, unmoving once more. Just as Ichigo was about to head out, a bright light within the tank caught his eye. The cut shimmered a vibrant teal, knitting in on itself in a matter of seconds.

Ichigo pressed his hand to the glass, awestruck. Yet another miracle. What other magic was Grimmjow capable of?

As it turned out, far more than he thought possible. He found Grimmjow cupping Rukia’s face when he entered the lab. His shoulders stiffened, though not out of a childish jealousy.

Grimmjow’s hand glowed with that same teal light from the tank. Faint red scratches along her left cheek faded, scarred, and eventually disappeared altogether. After a moment, he sighed and rested his head against her shoulder. “Sorry. Doing that takes a lot out of me.”

“It’s fine. Thank you,” she said, patting a tentative hand on the top of his head.

Ichigo cleared his throat and Grimmjow stepped back immediately.

“Your tail’s back in its tank. Kurotsuchi won’t touch it again,” he began, looking between them. “What happened here?”

Grimmjow looked away. “I scratched her face.”

“It was an accident,” Rukia added, if only to quell her husband’s overprotective nature. “He didn’t mean to do it.”

Ichigo swept a gentle thumb along her smooth cheek. Not even a trace of a wound left. This had to be why Hueco Mundo was searching so hard for merpeople. Whatever methods they used to heal themselves would no doubt be distilled into an overpriced pill and distributed worldwide for profit. They’d cure countless wounds, ailments, and diseases—at the expense of an entire species’ freedom.

Grimmjow scratched the back of his head. The red in his ears was not lost to either of them. “You humans are so fragile. Don’t think for a moment I give a shit about either of you. I only healed her because you stopped those bastards from cutting up my tail.”

Ichigo almost laughed. He never knew merpeople could be such bad liars.

“Thanks, Grimmjow. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Grimmjow was granted limited access to the ship’s cafeteria, the deck, and the library soon after the tail debacle. Apparently, the Kurosakis had argued to give him more privileges. He didn’t appreciate their pity, but he couldn’t deny that getting a better lay of his new prison wasn’t half-bad, either.

Assorted seafood and loud, jovial chatter filled the cafeteria the first time he dared leave his cell. The noise died down as soon as the rest of the crew saw him.

Rukia dragged him to a table in the corner, far from their judgment and unfiltered fear. “Don’t let them get to you. You’ll only give them an excuse to isolate you further.”

Ichigo returned with their food soon after and strategically placed himself in front of Grimmjow. He knew that the others’ stares bothered them. Just like he knew to eat at least one of the sashimi to prove it wasn’t drugged.

They were both so unfailingly kind that it almost distracted him from the other crew members’ wary stares. Almost.

Being on deck wasn’t any better. The ocean, vast and expanding and within arm’s reach, felt like a taunt. Waves crashing along the ship sounded more and more like hissing laughter. He was so close. He could feel the sea below. He could taste it.

And yet, he could barely walk on his own. Swimming without his tail was out of the question. Abandoning it entirely was unthinkable.

The library was the only place that didn’t piss him off. Usually, the three of them were left well enough alone here. Quiet and rarely ventured by the rest of the crew, this soon became a haven where the three of them lounged in relative peace.

The lone book on fairy tales seemed so laughably out-of-place before, back when their voyage was within the realm of normal research. Now it was the only text they had to figure out what Grimmjow could be. Various cultures had their own versions of merpeople myths throughout the centuries. Some were vicious creatures that preyed on human sailors. Others were more vulnerable, often taken advantage of by unrelenting men stealing their lives away from them.

Grimmjow was somewhat amused by the Kurosakis scrambling to figure him out. “Humans are always trying to categorize everything. Like the world can fit into neat, little boxes that tell you exactly what it has in store.”

That didn’t stop Ichigo and Rukia from trying, anyway.

Grimmjow did not appear to be a kappa. As much as he hated humans, he was never very interested in eating them. He didn’t appear to be a siren, either.

“You think my voice is pretty enough to lure random sailors to me?” A laugh threaded through his voice. “You’ve heard me yell before. Tell me that wouldn’t just steer everyone away instead.”

Rukia pouted. “Hey, we’re just going through the process of elimination here. Besides, your human voice isn’t that bad to listen to.”

At this, Ichigo nodded.

Grimmjow’s taunting smile fell. “What?”

Both Ichigo and Rukia exchanged a panicked glance.

“Nothing.”

He never pressed the matter afterwards, though he did eye the two fidgeting when they led him back to his cell-converted-bedroom. Despite their best wishes, the crew didn’t see it fit to grant Grimmjow a more comfortable room.

The silence was the worst part of the night. He had always been able to sense that his tail was nearby, but could never get a proper read on where it was. This ship was too damn big, and the other humans were all too glad to shut him out of anything but their pre-approved activities for him.

Ichigo and Rukia wanted to help him. He saw it in their faces. Saw the regret and remorse. And something else underneath that, too. Something he dared not name.

Grimmjow wiped a weary hand over his face. He couldn’t afford to think about that now. Not about a couple of humans. Not when they saw him as nothing more than a monster to study.

His eyes flickered up to the line of photographs the two had taped to his cell wall. In all but one photo, Grimmjow looked either irritated or surprised. The Kurosakis had done their best to get him to smile—and had succeeded on one occasion.

They stuck this photo proudly just above his air mattress. Ichigo had said something stupid and it made him laugh despite himself. Rukia then snapped a photo to capture the moment.

It embarrassed him, at first, but they were both adamant about him keeping it. He refused to even look at it, just to spite them. Now, though, he noticed the light in Rukia’s eyes when she looked over at him. The sly way Ichigo’s hand had inched over his.

His heart jumped to an uncomfortable rhythm. He always hated humans. Hated their cruelty. Hated their curiosity. Hated that they could never leave anything alone.

Ichigo and Rukia were no different. They let him believe that there could be good humans. They made him believe that they actually cared about him.

And maybe he wanted to believe in goodness. In love.

Maybe he wanted…

Grimmjow tossed the photo to the side and collapsed onto the air mattress, face burning at the thought.

Fuck.

* * *

Instead of getting ready for the night, Rukia went to take a walk. She had to clear her head, get a gulp of fresh sea air. She’d spent too long down in the hull with only her husband and a mythological creature to keep her company. It was no wonder her thoughts grew delirious. Ridiculous, even.

And yet, she couldn’t get the thought of Grimmjow out of her head.

He was a lot more observant than most of the crew gave him credit for. Maybe he’d already figured it out.

There was no denying it: whether as a merman or regular human, Grimmjow was alluring. It was more than the sharp blue of his hair that caught both Ichigo and Rukia’s eyes. Even without his tail, he moved through the ship with a silky swagger, carving his way through every space with intent.

His biting confidence, his sarcasm, his observant wit…

Well, it was no wonder so many writers were enchanted by merpeople.

Rukia was confident in her marriage. It was not as though her love for her husband had diminished just because someone else caught her eye.

Ichigo felt the same way. She’d seen his eyes follow Grimmjow from over the top of his paperwork, the way he leaned in whenever the merman wanted to speak. He had to know how she felt, too, but they never talked about it.

To bring it up would be to admit it, and what kind of unprofessional scientists would they be to fall for their research subject?

Rukia became so lost in thought that she nearly barreled into one of the soldiers stationed on deck. “Lieutenant Matsumoto,” she said, straightening up. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

“Oh, Rukia-chan, no need to be so formal! Please call me Rangiku!” the lieutenant crooned. “You and I haven’t had the chance to hang out much. I’m dying for some girl talk.”

Rukia snapped the chance up immediately. Anything to get her out of her own head. “Would you like a drink?”

“I’d love nothing more!” Without warning, Rangiku looped her arm through hers and practically dragged her to the little bar in the cafeteria.

The sake warmed her a bit, which was a relief because the ship was always cold. Her mind became blissfully numb, her tongue a little looser.

Eventually, Rukia gathered the courage to ask, “Why did you sign up for this mission?”

Rangiku looked out onto the deck beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Gin asked me to.”

When Rukia stiffened, she waved her away. “I know, I know. He can be a handful a lot of the time. But I told him to leave you, your husband, and that merman alone. He’s kept to his word so far, right?”

Reluctant to give him any benefit of the doubt, Rukia offered only a curt nod.

Rangiku leaned back with a lax smile. “I’m glad. That merman seems to get agitated easily. If Gin raised that creature’s hackles, I don’t think he’d escape unscathed.”

“Grimmjow isn’t…I mean, he’s temperamental, but he’s not…”

Dangerous? No, that was a lie. The moment he arrived on the ship, when they’d failed to sedate him, he’d nearly killed Ichigo. When his tail was being dissected, he clawed at her face.

Grimmjow was dangerous. He was also, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner. Of course he’d attack anyone he saw as a threat.

Maybe that extended to both her and Ichigo, too. As much as they enjoyed being around him, there was no telling whether or not he felt even remotely the same.

They weren’t any better than the men from mermaid myth who abducted selkies for their own personal gain. Sure, they had forced the crew into a relative stalemate for a time. Grimmjow might trust them to an extent. None of it would be enough.

“You and your husband spend a lot of time around him. What’s he like?” Rangiku asked, leaning her head against her hand.

Rukia shifted in her seat. “Grimmjow is…admittedly not what we expected. He’s very rude. Not elegant like all the legends say. He has anger issues and he’s always trying to pick a fight.”

“He sounds similar to your husband, actually.”

“They’re both utter fools,” she conceded. “But that doesn’t mean Grimmjow deserves to be prodded or experimented on or used. I’ve studied plenty of fish species before, but what we’re doing is just…insane. He can talk and think and he’s…he’s…”

“Different?” Rangiku offered.

“Yes, but it’s more than that. How are we supposed to justify any of this? If we find more merpeople, what will Hueco Mundo do to them?”

“That’s not something I like to think about. ‘s pretty messed up.”

At this, Rukia stiffened. “What do you mean?”

Rangiku slumped against the bar. “Mmm, I overheard Gin say somethin’ like the higher-ups are getting anxious. They were really getting on his case about it. If we don’t send in any valuable reports or find more merpeople soon, we might have to force that mer-guy to talk to us.”

“By force, do you mean you’re going to…”

“I mean, not me personally. I don’t have the stomach for torture.” Rangiku downed another shot. “I don’t doubt they’d put Kurotsuchi in charge of this project again, though.”

A chill ran down Rukia’s spine. If Kurotsuchi got ahold of Grimmjow again, there was no telling how far he’d go. He had already been willing to dissect his tail without reservation nor permission.

Rukia stood up abruptly. “I…I think I’ll be heading off to bed now, Rangiku-san. Thanks for drinking with me.”

“No problem. I’ve had enough science talk for one night,” Rangiku said, patting her on the back. “We should do this again sometime. Maybe when we’re not shackled to work.”

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

And she did. A vague plan hatched in her mind, the pieces not quite connecting but nearly there.

When she got back to her room, she found Ichigo reading through that book of fairy tales one more time.

“You’re still up?”

He set the book aside on their nightstand. “Couldn’t sleep. I was…thinking.”

She didn’t need to ask what consumed him. “Rangiku-san told me that if Grimmjow doesn’t tell us about the whereabouts of more merpeople soon, they’re going to turn him over to Kurotsuchi.”

Ichigo scowled. “I’d like to see them try.”

“We need to help him escape.”

And there it was. Not a confession, but another emotion laid bare. Alcohol always dulled her usual common sense.

Ichigo took her hands in his, and it was only then she began to fall apart. “I care about him,” she went on. “I…I want to know more about him, but not like this. Not for the sake of people who will use him. Don’t you?”

Ichigo brushed his lips against her knuckles. “I do. But I care about you, too, Rukia. I don’t want us to lose our jobs.”

She snorted. “We’ll lose more than that if we fail.”

“Your brother can afford the best lawyers to get us off scot-free.”

It sounded more like a plea than a fact. His smile wasn’t all that reassuring, either.

“Using the Kuchiki connections can only get us so far. If we help him, it would be considered a breach of contract. We’d have no case to defend.”

Her husband fiddled with the wedding band on her finger. He’d always been a good man. She could count on that, if nothing else.

Ichigo heaved a heavy sigh. Always one for the dramatics, her husband. She knew he’d follow her anywhere if she asked him to.

“What do you have in mind?”

* * *

The first phase of their plan involved getting to know the crew. Ichigo befriended a few of the soldiers on camera duty under the guise of wanting to install a couple cameras in Grimmjow’s cell. They were easier to fool than he thought.

Getting them drunk wasn’t an issue. They were so bored with their mission that they had nothing else to do but drink. The research was best left to the scientists, they said. No need for them to get involved if they just had the one tightly-bound prisoner.

Rukia got information about the soldier’s nightly patrols from Rangiku and managed to map out their routes. All of it was in place.

Overloading the ship’s electric grid was simple. When Ichigo called for their assistant to bring him and the security crew more drinks, he tripped him and let the drinks splatter over the controls. The monitors blinked off and the rest of the ship’s electricity shut down almost instantly.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Hanatarō sputtered.

The tipsy security team fumbled for their flashlights and barked orders to their fellow soldiers. “Come help me start the generator! We need to reserve enough energy to get this damn ship back to shore for repairs.”

Hanatarō trailed after the soldiers, playing the part of the guilty party to a T. Should any of the soldiers go off-course, he’d alert the Kurosakis as soon as possible.

Rukia would secure the tail and Ichigo would take Grimmjow to the deck. It should have been simple. During lockdown, everyone was supposed to be confined to their rooms.

Rangiku was not supposed to be out tonight.

Rukia froze in place, the tail hefted over her shoulder. There was nothing she could do to plead her case.

Rangiku looked torn. A soldier’s orders were absolute. She had to turn them in, and Rukia had no doubt she would. A couple nights at the bar wasn’t enough time to build up a friendship.

“Go.”

Rukia gawked at her, uncertain if she had heard her right.

“Don’t make me say it again, Rukia-chan.”

Rukia hesitated for only a moment then bowed deep. “Thank you.”

A weary smile broke across Rangiku’s face. “I still expect us to have a girl’s night sometime after all this.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Rukia said with a small smile of her own.

The time window was slim. There was hardly any margin for error here. Even a stray soldier falling behind on their patrols could screw everything up.

The three met up on deck not too long after. Ichigo led Grimmjow by the wrist to their meeting point. It was only when he caught sight of his tail did he realize what was going on.

“Why the hell are you helping me?” he asked, wide-eyed.

Ichigo handed over Grimmjow’s tail. “Look, the last few weeks have been pretty weird…and great, too. But you can’t stay here.”

“It’s not right to keep you here. Hueco Mundo will end up killing you.” Rukia squeezed his arm. “We don’t want to see that happen to you, Grimmjow.”

A startled blush crawled across Grimmjow’s face and he faced the sea. “Che, you’re both so honest. It’s gross.”

Rukia smiled and drew out one last present. “If you ever want to meet up again, I drew a map for you to follow. This place is safe, I promise you that.”

Both men turned to look at the bottle in her hand.

“A message in a bottle? Seriously?” her husband groaned.

“What? It was the only way I could think to keep it dry!”

“Please tell me it doesn’t have your weird rabbit drawings on it,” he said. “Or wait, it’s written in some stupid code, right?”

Rukia elbowed him in the side. “You idiot! I want him to find us again.”

Much to their surprise, Grimmjow started to laugh. “You’re both idiots.”

He stepped forward and planted his lips firmly on Ichigo’s. Rukia made a startled noise in her throat when he did the same to her.

A genuine grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”

In a blink, he was gone. Ichigo and Rukia peered into the churning water. The telltale splash rippled across the water.

They did it. Grimmjow was free.

They made it back to their room without any incident whatsoever. Another miracle maybe? Or had this entire trip been one feverish dream?

The crew woke them up for individual interrogations a couple hours later. With no evidence and no camera footage to prove their whereabouts that night, however, they couldn’t be held responsible for Grimmjow’s strange disappearance.

Ichigo had told the drunken soldiers that he’d go to his room right when the power went off, as they ordered, and that’s where they found him and his wife. They had no case. No witnesses came forward.

The merman had simply vanished into the sea without a trace.

The Kurosakis quit the research venture as soon as they hit land. A few other researchers followed suit. The past few weeks were more than any of them ever asked for.

After their ordeal, they definitely needed a vacation. Rukia’s brother’s island would do just nicely.

They spent the day on a pristine white beach, enjoying the cool breeze and their shady picnic. Once sunset floated over the horizon, they walked along the dock to get a better view.

“Do you think he’ll come?” Rukia asked.

“Only one way to find out.”

They waited, sitting at the edge of the dock as the waves roiled underneath them. Suddenly, a blue and white beast launched out of the water just a few feet from the dock. Hope pulled them forward to a new beginning.

Rukia squatted at the edge of the dock. Familiar black eyes surfaced to meet hers. She leaned forth to plant a small kiss to his forehead.

Grimmjow scowled. “See, this is why I hate humans. You’re both so annoying.”

Ichigo rolled his eyes, but Rukia simply laughed.

“Yeah, yeah. We love you, too.”

#this zine is so so pretty im so happy to have been part of it #GrimmIchiRuki #Bleach #GrimmIchi #Ichiruki #Grimmruki #Grimmjow Jeagerjaques #Kurosaki Ichigo #Kuchiki Rukia

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rinusagitora · 2 years

Text

The changing of the tides.

Fandom: Bleach

Characters: Karin Kurosaki, Yuzu Kurosaki, Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, Shuuhei Hisagi, Akon, Shuukurou Tsukishima, Momo Hinamori, Toushirou Hitsugaya

Words: 5.8k

Summary: Merpeople!AU. WARNINGS- recreational drug use, major character death, cosmic horror; The end is foretold by the disappearance of the sea serpents.

A/N: Written for @thewhisperingdeep fanzine.

AO3: works/41955684

Gargantuan serpents have ruled the ocean for as long as life has made their home in its waters. Generations pass and they remain until conquest claims them and recycles their flesh as food and bones as shelter and tools for the masses.

The natural order is venerated as a result. Birth, life, reproduction, death, consumption. All things outside the cycle, that which is unnatural, are calamitous and loathsome. Ruins, masses of hollow and angular planes dotting the ocean bottom, are omens of devastation. Alien artifacts found are destroyed by magicians or given a wide berth so they do not pollute the order worshipped by ocean-dwellers.

The end is foretold by the disappearance of the sea serpents, where nothing is behind to repurpose, and there are no rulers to command the denizens of the seas.

---

Karin only dreamt when she was ill. She was healthy, so they came few and far between as a result.

She was made by her companions to hole up in their father’s home to recuperate once they noticed the severity of her delirium. Disorientation and indolence. But Karin hated caves, even when she lived there as a child. Even if it had enough space to fit their enormous bodies, it was too tight of a squeeze for her to feel comfortable. She always pictured the walls giving in and the rubble crushing her.

The seaweed bed made for her was destroyed while she thrashed in her sleep, haunted by terrible images of blinding lights and bellies unzipping. Of water clouded with blood and intestines until even the most piercing luminescence was smothered by its density.

Her eyes opened to her father shaking her. Karin breathed a sigh of relief to be free of terrible hallucinations.

Yuzu was more youthful, despite being her twin. It was because she didn’t chew kanakusa, psychoactive seaweed digested by sharks then preserved in brine pools. She inherited their mother’s fairness, with pale hair and red tendrils, unlike Karin, who inherited their father’s darkness. Black hair, black bell, black tendrils. Yuzu glowed through the darkness while Karin disappeared into it. It sometimes made Karin jealous, until she remembered she inherited her mother’s fury and passion. Her emotional likeness was better than her physical likeness.

When their mother Masaki was murdered, her body fed Karin, Yuzu, and their brother Ichigo until they bloated. It was a common ordeal, but it gave Karin mixed feelings into the present. The grief over never seeing their mother again, the bliss from absorbing her essence. They kept her bones. Karin wove Masaki’s teeth in her hair and Yuzu shaved Masaki’s ribs into jewelry, like beautiful talons.

Karin absorbed Masaki’s odd dreams with her flesh. Witches called them premonitions, but they were always so cryptic. She wasn't smart enough to decipher them. Karin didn't classify herself as a witch for that very reason. Witches solved riddles, while the rest of them scratched their heads like buffoons.

She rubbed her eyes after blearily taking in Yuzu. She then glanced around the cavern. Their kind traveled with at least one companion, oftentimes unremarkable that used their enormous bodies as shelter in exchange for companionship in the lonely ocean. “Where are my marrer?” she croaked.

Yuzu pet her hair. “Outside.” Even though she was comforting, Karin sensed her disquiet.

“What has you unsettled?”

“Ichigo and Renji are outside as well… they want a word with you.”

Ichigo’s visitations were a welcome change of pace. He was swamped with errands since he began serving the serpents. Karin only saw him from afar and never long enough to flag him down before he disappeared into dark waters. Social calls were non-existent. He only wanted to see her for whatever schemes the serpents had in motion.

Karin respected the serpents a great deal. They took care of herself and her sibling after Masaki was murdered. The serpents she met, Toushirou and Shinji, were compassionate. But she feared them. The magnitude and their influence and sheer power made her feel small and scared. The ocean was their possession, and they could bring its end with a flick of their tails if they so desired. She gave them a wide berth as best as she could.

She lifted herself out of the ruined bed. “I’ll see what they want.”

Karin’s companions loitered in the mouth of the cave. Kei’s lips were downturned and worried. He was always anxious, but Kazuya, Ryohei, and Heita were just as worried as he. Kazuya rubbed his arms hard enough that he shed scales.

“Be calm,” she told them, “I won’t be long.”

Karin saw Ichigo from afar, glowing through the waters due to his paleness. Their father called them phantom jellyfish, enormous beings whose tendrils billowed like ether.

Renji was a shark. He was a fearsome creature, bulging with musculature, fashionable scars, and rows of jagged fangs spanning from his lips down his pallet. But he was friendly. Karin felt like he was a giant pillow or another brother. He teased her and she teased back. He told her stories about the sea serpent he served. Byakuya was covered in mollusks and blooms of colorful coral. Long ago, Renji helped Byakuya crush a terrible sea serpent whose name and body was lost. It was a fierce battle.

Karin was grateful to Renji, too. He introduced Karin to his wife Momo, who became her very best friend. Momo was a witch. Perhaps not the most frightening or revered, but notorious enough that she was feared. She was the lover of the nameless sea serpent. The one who murdered Karin’s mother, and required the teamwork of all the serpents and their thrall to kill. She cursed him so his name was forgotten and his body unusable. The invocation of her vehemence was worse than death. She was kinder than their compatriots made her out to be. Momo kissed her head and showed her fascinating parlor tricks that made Karin feel like the world was wonderful.

Karin hugged Renji, and then Ichigo. Renji pulled a clamshell filled with kanakusa and pressed a wad into Karin’s hand. She chewed it.

“Yuzu told me you were ill. I hope you’re feeling better,” Ichigo said.

“I think I’m over the worst of it now,” she replied and did not elaborate. He didn’t need to know about her awful dream. “Where are Keigo and Mizuiro?”

Keigo and Mizuiro were Ichigo’s companions, the way Kei, Kazuya, Heita, and Ryohei were her companions. They usually accompanied Ichigo for menial tasks, but he left them behind when something serious arose. It put a pit in Karin’s stomach. She nervously clung to Renji to keep her anxieties at bay.

"Karin, we need a favor from you," Ichigo replied.

"Alright."

"I know you befriended Toushirou. We want to know if you've seen him as of late."

Karin shook her head. "Not for some time. My fever lasted for a while. My companions made me rest here, so I haven't seen anyone but them or our sister since I came here."

"How long ago was that?"

Karin spat out a glob of kanakusa. “I don’t know. The fever blurred the passage of time,” she said. “Why are you asking me these questions? Is Toushirou hurt?”

Ichigo and Renji shared a glance and Karin’s heart thumped. Fear washed her like cold waves.

“His thrall haven’t seen him for some time. Not even Rangiku,” Renji said.

Rangiku wasn’t the most reliable thrall to Toushirou, but his most loyal, and most useful. She played a key part in rallying efforts against Momo’s former lover, and the scourge of the ocean. Karin met her many times and each was memorable, rife with hallucinogens, alien oceanscapes, and mischief. She always made Karin feel acknowledged. It was, perhaps, the most useful skill to have in peacetime.

It was worrisome that she, of all people, who got along with everyone, hadn’t seen him.

Karin’s father told her about the prophecies when she was younger. The end came when their rulers vanished without a trace. No bodies behind to reuse, but horrific vanishment, with only their memory remaining. The ocean decayed in their absence.

Karin crossed her arms. “Have you spoken with Momo? She should be able to conjure something to hunt for him.”

Ichigo shook his head. “We haven’t. We were hoping this wouldn’t escalate to necessitate magic.”

“I’ll assist the search, then.” Karin had a few tricks she could use to locate Toushirou. Friendship with Momo gave Karin access to horrible creatures worse than she. Creatures with reach that spanned the ocean, networks larger than even the most mammoth serpent. Ones Ichigo and Renji refused to associate with when the circumstances permitted it.

Renji squeezed her. “If you find him, go to Momo. She has the means to contact us,” he told her. She nodded.

***

Karin gathered Kazuya, Kei, Heita, and Ryohei, and left for the open ocean.

“Where do you plan on starting the search?” Kazuya asked as they swam.

“With friends,” Karin said.

Their brethren were too fearful of the terrible things in the ocean. That which was unnatural was abhorrent, but the definition of natural was often narrow by those outside the magical class. It was why witches were feared. But those ostracized except in the direst of times were often the most useful. And the ones Karin most easily befriended.

Shuuhei and Izuru were Momo’s husbands, like Renji was her husband. They weren’t witches but incredible in their own right. Attuned to the pulse of the ocean, like the ocean was their pulse. Karin didn’t understand what the ocean’s pulse was, but they found it at the bottom of the deepest valley, and it connected them with the ocean and everything in it. They would know where to find Toushirou, or where to start, once they tapped into it.

They steadily descended. Karin felt like she was being squeezed and rung out, like how they processed kanakusa. The appearance of her companions warped. Shrunk and flattened.

The only denizens at those depths were serpents, shrimp, and mollusks. Karin felt like she was breathing stones. Heita burped bile and blood. Kazuya clutched his chest. He gasped, “I cannot continue! I feel myself collapsing. Dying!”

Karin stopped. “Ascend,” she ordered. “I’ll return once I finish.”

Kazuya, Kei, Ryohei, and Heita shared a glance before they nodded and retreated. How they accomplished nonverbal communication was a mystery to Karin.

The well-being of her companions was her responsibility. They needed her for shelter and fed off her scraps. As badly as she needed their company, she’d have no more company if the pressure of the deep made them implode.

It wasn’t much longer before music penetrated her. The pulse was magnified by the drumbeat Shuuhei made from the preserved hide of his and Izuru’s late masters. Their names were Gin and Kaname. Each was as destructive as the serpent whose body and name Momo sought to erase.

The drumbeat shook her bones and innards. The kanakusa was kicking in, highlighting the waves and debris in lovely hues of gold. The energy rushing through her head, pumping in her brain and through her veins, was good, even if her insides felt like they filled with blood. It reminded her of the rush sharks experiences as they tore apart smaller fish, and the smug satisfaction lantern fish had when they coaxed their brothers and sisters into their bellies. The mere existence was magical. Thrilling. The water shook her, and it shook with her, and she shook with it. It felt like she was diffusing into the waters. Was it the fabled pulse of the ocean?

Shuuhei and Izuru played in an arena of vents spouting boiling water. A cloud of algae shrouded them, and they played through it, pounding their drugs with their fists so swiftly in the deep, dense water, that they blurred. The vents added an endless melody, a monotonous rumble of rushing, sizzling water.

Her eyes shut as she reveled the enchantment of her bones shaking. But they noticed her, and they stopped playing, and her bones stopped shaking. Her eyes opened and she missed the euphoria.

Shuuhei swept her into a hug. “Hey! It’s been a while. Look at you, you’re gorgeous.”

He was a shark able to throw his jaw out of his skull. He called it distention and a goblin. It made Karin feel good that he owned his unusual appearance. Sometimes she wanted to emulate it and become comfortable with her phantasmagorical qualities when, according to him, the alternative was wallowing in misery. He was as much a brother to her as Renji and Ichigo were.

Karin was close to Izuru too. He was gutted years ago on angular ruins and put back together, but he was a miserable bastard long before that. Renji told her a cruel serpent named Gin warped him into a fatalistic and ruthless creature when Karin was born. She was never told what the serpent did to make Izuru calloused. Karin wasn't sure she wanted to know, either, because Momo rendered her serpent nameless and missing. Some things were best left private to not open old wounds.

But Izuru made Karin feel justified in discomfort and anger, and he adored her best friend Momo as her husband. It was hard not to love him.

Izuru played with her hair. He swept it behind her shoulders. “Your hair is longer… it’s beautiful.”

“The shrinkage makes it appear longer than it is,” she replied, smiling as she squeezed their arms. “Unfortunately, I’m not here on a social call.”

Shuuhei raised his eyebrows. “So you say… but you’re high on kanakusa.”

“It’s a long story. And potentially time-sensitive.”

Izuru folded his arms. The dark spots on his skin turned gold before they dimmed. “Is this about Toushirou?”

“No one has laid eyes on him in some time. Not even Rangiku. She, Renji, and Ichigo are in a tizzy trying to find him. I was hoping you two would have feelers out for him,” she told them.

Izuru and Shuuhei shared a side-eye. Even if Karin was buzzed, she knew they were displeased. Neither of them liked Toushirou. They thought he was bratty and ineffective. Karin was sure they would be more than pleased if Toushirou perished. But Karin believed in the prophecies. Moreso, she liked Toushirou. She could cope with his death, but she needed to find him first.

“Truthfully… we haven’t been searching. We haven’t felt anything from the pulse, either.”

“That’s not a good sign,” Karin replied.

Shuuhei shrugged. “It ebbs and flows. It’s not unusual to lose touch, even down here where it’s strongest.”

“But you don’t know where he is?”

“I’m sorry,” Izuru said. And he was. She saw it etched in his face. He was a pleaser. Sought the approval of Momo and his husbands, and those he, at the very least, regarded as allies. “I know someone who may be able to help you, however, if you’re able to tolerate the brine pools.”

Karin asked, “Where kanakusa is processed?”

“No. Mayuri’s territory.”

Her lip curled. “Oh.”

Mayuri was a malicious sea serpent. She refused contact with most of his thrall because most of them were never-do-wells. Karin’s favorites were the never-do-wells, as long as they weren’t Mayuri’s. Mayuri made the very rocks rot and crack. His brine pools were as volatile, burping acid and swarming with indiscriminate predators he employed to guard his secrets.

Shuuhei clasped her shoulder. “I know it isn’t ideal.”

“It isn’t, but I’ll survive,” Karin replied with a gentle smile. “Who am I looking for?”

“His name is Akon. He’s a competent witch, and you will be safe in his care.” Izuru said.

She nodded. She met Akon once before. He was a smarmy and mucosal hagfish. Karin always felt like he wanted to pull out her guts and play with them while she writhed.

But he and Izuru were on good terms. Akon, at the behest of his serpent master Mayuri, was the one who put Izuru’s guts back together after his disembowelment. She wasn’t sure they were friends as much as they were two warped individuals who meshed in the way warped individuals meshed. Feeding off each other’s twisted ways. The difference was that Izuru was endearing. Akon was a fucking degenerate.

The meaning of Toushirou’s disappearance was far bigger than she, however.

“I must leave. Time is of the essence,” Karin said. She hugged Izuru and Shuuhei once more and ascended to meet her companions.

Kei asked, “How was it? Did you find anything useful? Did they find Toushirou?”

“They probably just had an orgy,” Ryohei mumbled.

Karin smacked Ryohei upside his head. He yelped. “There’s no need to be crude,” she said. “But no. Izuru and Shuuhei aren’t able to tap into the pulse now. Izuru gave me another lead, however, so we must go posthaste.”

She swam between them and they flanked her. Heita asked, “I know I’ll regret asking, but where are we going?”

“A servant of Mayuri will be able to help us locate Toushirou.”

Heita groaned. “Of course.”

“That’s why you don’t ask questions,” Ryohei told him.

***

The brine pools Mayuri’s servants populated were as alien as Karin remembered them being. Rangiku took her once. She met Akon. They got high on kanakusa, and Akon made Karin feel like parasites crawled over her.

The waters were noxious there. Karin’s throat itched and it felt like her skull was swollen. Kei, Kazuya, Heita, and Ryohei hid in her bell, hoping her tendrils would circulate breathable water, but it didn’t save them from the rash of saline water. Kei coughed and scratched his eyes. She was tempted to tell them to head back to the cave she was made to recuperate in, but couldn’t muster the words. How anyone tolerated that climate was puzzling.

It was rare to see inside any cave from afar. But Akon’s home glowed with shelves of luminescent fungi. It was stale inside but lived in. Karin collected her tendrils to keep from knocking over scrolls Akon fashioned out of hide.

Akon mashed a concoction of ingredients Karin didn’t recognize. He didn’t notice them until Karin called him by name.

“Akon, Izuru sent me here.” She hoped Izuru’s name would keep him from dissecting her.

He glanced up and flexed his jaw. It spanned from his face to his chest, filled jagged and teeth he chipped from gnawing flesh off bones.

He, at least, didn’t require pleasantries. “What for?”

“We’re searching for Toushirou. He’s missing.”

“Serpents are difficult to locate by nature.”

“No, he’s missing. Rangiku doesn’t know where he is. Several of Byakuya’s thrall are searching for him, as well.”

Akon frowned. “That is troublesome.”

“We were hoping you would be able to utilize your magic to locate him,” she said.

Akon rolled his shoulders. He hummed. “I can. But I need something from you.”

“Will it help find Toushirou?”

“No, but I’ll help find Toushirou when it’s finished,” he said.

Karin frowned. She should’ve seen something like that coming. Akon was a selfish person, and favors were his currency. She didn’t want to be his gopher or experiment, but Karin needed to hear him out.

“Mayuri requires golden bones from the Ruins,” he said, “he saw them glinting through a hole in the ruins and wants them harvested.”

The Ruins were a strange, angular structure that sank before Karin was born. Ocean-dwellers gave it a wide berth because it was the zenith of the unnatural they feared and reviled. Karin saw it from afar once, and they ran. It emitted death. The very image inspired horror, it made Karin’s guts bubble with anxiety. She wasn’t thrilled to run errands for Akon, but having to search the Ruins was the absolute worst.

“Fine,” she replied. “I’ll fetch the bones for you. But I want nothing to do with Mayuri.” She didn’t want to be the thrall of the serpents, especially Mayuri’s.

“Bring them to me, and I’ll give you his location.” Akon’s eyes turned into crescents like he was smiling. “I’ll see you soon, Karin.”

She hoped she returned alive.

Without another word, Karin flipped around and returned to the dark ocean. Her companions freed themselves once they were away from the toxic brine pools.

Kazuya asked, “Are you okay?”

“It was a short exchange. We have that to be grateful for,” Karin said.

The Ruins weren’t far from Mayuri’s brine pools. In the darkness, its shape emerged through the darkness. Flat, angular planes. Shrimp didn’t occupy it, and there wasn’t a hint of barnacles on its surfaces. A bubble of vacancy entombed it. It didn’t even stink of death. Death, a natural part of life, was accepted and grieved. The complete vacancy was unnatural.

Momo told her the Ruins appeared one day. It was long before even her father’s time. The serpent Momo now served, Shinji, a long crab with pincers able to snap whales in half, told Karin of the day it sank. It barreled to the seafloor like a curse from the beyond and kicked up a cloud for ages. When the silt cleared, the serpents and witches condemned it. No one has touched it since. Certainly not Karin.

Approaching it, she felt like she was in trouble. Like she betrayed Momo and her loved ones. Karin swallowed bile.

She and her companions circled the exterior. They peered in through round holes, even in shape and equidistant, except when long openings punctuated the exterior with thick flaps waving in the tide.

Karin held the flap open. She peered in and frowned. “Stay here for the time being. It’s too tight to fit all five of us.”

Kei hugged his sides. “In, out, I don’t want to be anywhere near here.”

Karin pulled her tendrils over her arms and swam in. Maneuvering inside posed a challenge. She was too large to swim the pathways as she swam through the open ocean, so Karin pulled herself through it with her hands.

It wasn’t a long expedition. A skeleton with a split tail was tangled around a rod. Their teeth glittered gold. She had never seen ocean-dwellers with golden teeth before. When their teeth chipped they either waited for a new one to grow in or lived with it and pureed food between stones if the situation called for it. Their teeth yellowed or grew malformed, but never gold. It was unnatural and foul.

She pried them out with her fingers. They cramped unmercifully until she held the golden ones in her palms.

“What a coincidence,” she heard from behind her. Karin twisted while her heart seized, and she snarled when she saw who addressed her.

His name was Shuukurou, a spiny oarfish. He once conned them into thinking he was their family’s friend and then attempted to take Ichigo’s life. His execution was ordered by the serpent Byakuya but he vanished before it could be carried out.

She wasn’t surprised that a contemptible ocean-dweller like him made his home in the Ruins. She would make it his grave.

“Look who it is… what imbecile would reveal himself to me?” Karin hissed. “Me, who shall celebrate your demise at my hands?”

He glanced at the bones, and then at her. “You’ve taken my treasure, haven’t you?”

“Like you tried to take my brother’s life?” Karin felt like she was boiling in her rage.

His eyes narrowed. “You’ll succeed the same as I succeeded: not at all.”

Karin was good in a fight. It was how she sustained herself. Phantoms didn’t have fancy tricks like luminescence or camouflage, so they relied on brute strength to catch and consume prey. Her family was famous for their combat efficiency.

When Shuukurou lunged, she caught him by his jaws. He thrashed and tried to snap his teeth to skin her, but wasn’t able to free himself from her grapple. As she held Shuukurou at bay, she cocooned him in her tendrils, coiling until they overlapped, and she squeezed him. A howl of rage and agony ripped from his throat. Still, Karin squeezed and pushed his jaw open. It dislocated with a satisfying crack. As his organs collapsed, blood gushed into her face from his throat.

She yelped. Shuukurou dug his thumbs into her eyes and she screamed. Her tendrils loosened and he slipped free. His fangs plunged into her arm. She screeched unholily. Blindly, she thrashed her arms and tendrils until they found purchase. Karin curled her fists around the crest sprouting from his head. She yanked him towards her and held his head in her biceps. Shuukurou writhed. He pounded his fist against her biceps. He scratched and spat, to no avail. Karin loathed him. She wanted him dead and would squeeze the life out of him to do so.

His struggle died out. Karin, through a haze of blood and scratches, saw his mouth gape and his eyes bulge. She pushed him away and counted the gold dots clasped in her hand. Karin held onto all of them.

Karin pushed his corpse away and found her way outside. Her sight was returning, although her eyes still stung. Kei caught her arm.

“What the fuck happened to you?” he asked. “You’re covered in scratches.”

She rubbed her eyelids. “All that matters is it’s over. Let’s get these back to Akon.”

***

The return trip was shorter somehow. Compared to the Ruins, the brine pools were less eerie. Karin gave Akon the golden bones, and he turned them in his fingers.

“These are magnificent,” he cooed. His praise made her skin crawl, and she rubbed her arms to brush off the bugs. “Solid gold. I’m amazed by how pure they are.”

“Just tell me where to find Toushirou,” Karin said.

Akon gave her a wad of herbs. “Chew this. You’ll be given visions of his location, and the aftereffects will serve as a map to his location."

Karin wordlessly chewed it. The herbs were sour and it made her face pucker.

The effects were immediate. Karin groaned as she was overtaken by images. Momo's red tentacles swirled as she strummed a strange, fibrous instrument with a fat, hollow back. The strings she played sour notes and billowed crimson and cerulean, the most vivid colors Karin ever saw, and they mixed into gorgeous violet. While her sour notes played, frames of her weeping and stirring herbs in her mantle flashed before Karin, splitting into red and blue hues before reconverging into a cohesive image.

Karin emerged from the hallucination with a chill. She wanted to throw something through Akon's head, something to pummel him to a pulpy mess of shattered bones and lumps of blood.

True to his word, though, the water illuminated orange. It twinkled in the water, shook with the currents like an eel.

It wasn't Akon's fault her vision didn't yield Toushirou's location. It wasn't encouraging, however. Had he been spirited away, as the prophecies predicted? Were they inaugurating their extinction through their search for Toushirou? Was he altogether dead, and Akon's magic unable to locate the remains?

Karin felt especially urgent. The beacon pointed towards Momo. She needed to leave.

"Thank you, Akon. I need to leave."

"Yes, yes," he said monotonously, waving her out, "you must ensure life as we know it isn't ending. Best of luck."

Karin swam into the open ocean, following the trail of orange waves that guided her to Momo. There was a pit in her gut. She didn't dare tell Kei, Kazuya, Heita, and Ryohei about her vision, however. They would leave her in a heartbeat.

***

Karin was malaised for the entire trek. Her worries were disorienting like she was being spun. It made her taste bile.

Momo was feared because she made her lover's name and body disappear and was reviled because of her home. An odd, angular body fell into the ocean and spilled horrid-tasting ink. It was unnatural and feared for that reason. Momo ripped apart the planes and shaped them into a home.

Karin didn't understand why Momo would do something so ominous. Anyone betrayed as she was, though, couldn't be well emotionally. Perhaps it was easier for Momo to steer into repugnance.

Her home appeared in the distance, highlighted in an orange aura. The rumble of water stopped, and Karin glanced back. Her companions were frozen in the water with their gazes focused on their tails. She frowned.

"What's on your mind?"

"Karin, he isn't here," Heita said, "and if he is, he isn't living."

She stared back. "What the fuck are saying." It wasn't a question because she knew what he was saying. What Kei, Kazuya, and Ryohei were thinking: Momo slew a serpent. That she was mad and harbinger of death.

Heita grimaced. "I'm just… I'm just saying that Momo has a history of doing awful things to serpents."

Rage filled Karin. "You stupid fucking fish!" she bellowed. Her tendrils swarmed him. "How dare you compare this to the schemes of that awful serpent!"

"Look at her home, Karin! We have heard the stories. The horrors these unnatural things do to us and our monarchs! She lives in an omen!"

"Leave my sight before I kill you," she bellowed. The water shook like vents boiled it and she smelled urine. But they escaped as fast as their tails could carry them.

She was hurt and betrayed. It was an open wound in her ribs. But time was of the essence, so Karin didn't have the time to grieve. She turned towards Momo's home before their silhouettes were consumed by darkness.

Momo was fraught. Before Karin was even through the entrance, she heard bowls and shells clatter. She saw fungi, the pleated skin of trilobites, and whale teeth thrown into a mortar. Momo chewed kanakusa. Shreds floated from her open mouth.

Karin knew nothing about magic, but her mentor's mania couldn't be anything good.

"Momo," Karin said. She yelped and flipped around. Her hand pressed against her hand.

"Good god, Karin, you can't sneak up on me like that!" she snapped.

"It's an emergency."

Momo shook her head. She bawled. "I know! I know, I'm sorry. I woke up with a terrible feeling but none of my spells have found him!"

"Is he dead?" Karin whispered. Her voice shook anyway.

"I don't know. This concoction is… is my last chance. If it doesn't work, there's nothing I can do! There's nothing I can do, and it's my fault that the ocean will die."

Karin took Momo's hands. Their eyes met, Momo wild and fearful. Their tentacles interlocked. "We should do it together."

She hesitated, then pulled a wad of algae from her mouth. "Chew on this. I need my drum."

Karin sucked the wad of kanakusa from Momo's fingers. Its juices gushed down her throat, and gold ribbons unfurled in the waves.

Momo's drum hung on the wall. She pulled it off the hook, held it by the rim, and drummed it with the other. Slowly, it penetrated Karin. The pulse of the ocean. She was one with the depths, connected to everything that touched the water.

Momo's concoction billowed crimson ink. Karin's eyes shut as it shrouded them. Visions accosted her. It made her skin prickle and her guts wrap themselves in tight knots.

She saw crests of saltwater crash and foam. A shape as unnatural as The Ruins cut through the water, illuminated by veins of flashing, jagged lights behind it. The air rumbled, not like Shuuhei's music, hypnotic, but cacophonous pops that Karin feared would cause her ears to bleed. The living ruins sent lines of hard rings into the depths where they sank and danced in the waves. She was entangled in them. They cut her to the bone and dragged her to shallow water where she bloated and hemorrhaged until her belly split and spilled her insides.

She saw deaths a hundredfold. Even the mighty sea serpent, Kenpachi, strong enough to make tsunamis and level mountains in the depths, thrashed as terrible weaves caught him and dragged him up.

It was the fucking end.

Her vision cleared. Karin convulsed, spewing bile into the saltwater. The sensation of her splitting remained. Momo shrouded Karin in a hug, entangling their limbs and squeezing her shoulders. They wept together, and Momo rubbed her arms like a sister or a mother.

"I don't want to die," Karin wheezed, pulling Momo tight around her like a blanket. She pictured her companions' bodies distorting above the water, bloated until they popped, intestines spilling onto unnatural things. Unnatural deaths. "Momo, I don't want to die like that."

"I know. I know," Momo said, holding her tightly. They rocked in the water, stirring it until Karin heard it rumble in her ears.

Momo turned her around and pressed a kiss against her head. She stroked Karin's head, face warped into a woeful grimace. "We could die on our terms before the ocean is razed. I can make it painless."

Karin felt like her chest was collapsing. "What about Ichigo and Yuzu? I can't leave them."

Momo pets her hair. She kisses her head again. "I love you so much, Karin. You're like my sister."

They hugged. "I love you too, Momo." She laid her cheek on her shoulder. "Is this goodbye?"

"I don't want to die like that."

Karin didn't blame her. Momo always wanted a peaceful death. She was going to take poison and fall asleep and rot without a care in the world.

She didn't want to leave Momo as a result. They floated together, suspended in grief and love. Karin held Momo tight and hoped to absorb Momo into her so Karin would never be without her best friend.

Karin left Momo's home. Karin hoped Momo's husbands would find peace somewhere because it left like a graveyard.

***

Karin felt hollow. She didn't feel the waves or the euphoria of kanakusa. Instead, she blindly floated through the ocean.

She stopped. In the depths, she saw shrouds of darkness, like her own tendrils, but giant. "What the fuck?"

She chased after it. Only serpents could be so large, but there were no phantom serpents that she knew of.

It turned to face her. Karin knew, the same way she knew Toushirou was gone, that it was her father. Had he grown into a serpent? Were they grown, and not created?

"Father!" she shouted. "Isshin!"

He swam to her left. She made a beeline for him. "Father! Father, stop!" she screamed. "Please!"

The water rushed past them. Karin froze, remembering the prophecy, of them being lifted into shallow waters, rupturing, and suffocating. A weave tangled her and swept her up. Karin ripped at it, shrieking, but it was oily and slick. She was going to die.

Her father captured it in his tendrils but they easily tore. Water rushed past her and deafened her to horror.

Her face swelled shut. Her joints ballooned, and her gut popped. It seared. White-hot, worse than her dreams. The end came with tragedy and agony before the blissful snuffing.

#bleach #karin kurosaki #toshiro hitsugaya #ichigo kurosaki #momo hinamori #yuzu kurosaki #renji abarai #izuru kira #shuuhei hisagi #akon #shukuro tsukishima

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