BLEACH: DEATH BLOSSOM - CHAPTER 1 (Draft) (Patreon)

The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was the ceiling staring at me, then the hard and slightly cold surface of the floor underneath me, followed by the smell of tea in the back.

It took me a few seconds to realize I was lying on the floor, confused, I bolted up in surprise.

Only to realize something, I was smaller.

“What in the world?” I muttered, finding yet again, another surprise, my voice, it sounded like that of a child.

I blinked in mild shock, directing my eyes to my hands, and sure enough, they were small, like those of a child, then I looked at my feet, finding yet again the same result.

I was a kid.

The question now was, why?

Why was I a kid?

Was this perhaps a nightmare? It didn’t feel particularly terrifying, so then a dream?

As I pondered over this thought, the paper sliding doors of my room I had failed to notice were slammed open, as a shadow appeared at the door. It was an old man of about seventy or so, his long white hair tied into a high ponytail. “Kuromaru!” the old man growled, staring at me.

I looked around, and sure enough, I was alone, meaning I had to be Kuromaru, what an odd dream.

“Yes?” I replied.

“What is going on!?” The old man barked, glaring at me.

“I have no idea,” I replied once again, wondering if this man was a representation of my shitty dad in my dreams, perhaps it was a nightmare, though, why would it be Japanese themed.

“Why are you flaring your reiatsu?” The old man sighed as if calming himself.

Reiatsu? Wait, wasn’t that a bleach thing? “I don’t know…” I replied, once again, being ever so eloquent.

“Go to sleep, Kuromaru…. You awoke the entire house flaring your riatsu,” The old man sighed, closing my door, in a very tired parent-like manner.

With the old man gone, I stared at the floor, and wondered, why was I having a dream about Bleach, of all animes, why Bleach… it wasn’t even the most recent one I watched, Attack on Titan was, and…. Now that I think about it, I am happy it’s Bleach.

Oh well, let’s do like the old man said, and try to sleep so that I can truly wake up.

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The next morning, I awoke to quiet and warmth.

Groaning, I blinked away the lingering haze of sleep as I groggily sat up on my bed, my arms stretching.

“What a weird d-” I was still here, I immediately realized, my voice being a dead giveaway.

Jumping out of my bed, I looked around and sure enough, I was still in the same modest Japanese-themed room.

“I fucking slept inside a dream?!” I muttered, thinking about how absurd that sounded.

“Nii-san,” I heard someone speak, a girl.

Startled, I turned around to find what looked to be a toddler, staring at me with a small smile, “Hi…” I greeted, unsure what to do.

“Nii-san are you okay?” The little girl asked.

“Yes,” I replied, in automatic mode, I was, after all, still processing the fact I was still here.

The little girl in question smiled, “Then hurry up, we have to eat before starting our training!” and with that said, the little girl was gone, and I don’t mean it in the she walked out of the room kinda way, more in the I blinked, and she was gone.

“I’m going mad,” I muttered, questioning my sanity.

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After my brief encounter with the little girl I mentally dubbed as toddler Houdini, for her impressive disappearance act, I just followed everything on auto-pilot, like I was there, but not really, not in mind at least, in mind, I was hoping I would wake up at any minute, that this was perhaps a new form of night terror I was experiencing, who knew?

Unfortunately, the awakening I was so eagerly expecting didn’t come to be, so I continued acting on autopilot, I brushed my teeth, and I was still there, I ate, and I was still there, and the worst part was, it all felt real.

Too real.

“Time to train,” The old man that I had seen last night said, and once again I nodded, and acted in auto-pilot, repeating over and over again inside my head that I had to wake up eventually.

However, the auto-pilot came to an end, when training started.

At first, I had no idea what training meant or could mean, for all I knew, my mind would pull some crap that didn’t connect to the exact definition of the word, but of all the strange possibilities I expected.

Fighting a toddler was not one of them, not by a long shot.

So, imagine my surprise, when mini Houdini starts kicking my ass in one hundred different ways.

I mean, I think she was.

I wasn’t sure.

I mean, I didn’t see any of the ways she kicked my ass, only that the moment someone in the crowd said start, she would basically disappear out of sight and emasculate me before I could even react.

“Kuromaru, are you feeling okay?” Houdini asked, a concerned look on her face.

“Peachy,” I wheezed trying to hide the immeasurable amount of pain I was feeling.

“Then why aren’t you defending yourself?” Houdini inquired with a frown on her face, a very good question indeed Houdini, a very good question.

“I don’t feel too good,” I replied, not like it was a lie.

“You are excused,” The old man said looking at me before he turned around and added, “Someone take him to the doctor,”

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One thing led to another, and I found myself in a small room, being looked at by a doctor who seemed to be more of a killer than a doctor. The man was eighty percent scars, and had this vibe that said talk to me and I’ll kill you.

“His reiatsu it’s all over the place,” The doctor said, frowning as he did so.

“How so?” The unknown the old man had ordered to take me to the doctor asked, frowning as well.

“Well, it’s flowing like a clogged system,” The doctor replied.

“That explains a lot,” The unknown nodded in comprehension.

Meanwhile I was questioning how deep my dream would thread this reality I was making, I mean this was getting ridiculous.

“Can you heal him?” The unknown asked a hint of worry in his voice.

The doctor looked at him and with a sigh, shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but this is something only the 4th division can fix

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The fourth division was a sight to behold, and from what I could tell, every building inside the division from the entrance to the Captain’s abode was made specifically to treat patients.

The entire division was a massive hospital so to speak.

“Wait here,” Mr. Unknown said, before he entered a room, probably to speak with the doctor before checking me.

I shrugged, and did as I was told, staying in place while looking around awkwardly, as a singular thought erupted inside my head, what if this was not a dream?

“Kuromaru, you can come in,” Questions for later.

Nodding, I walked inside the room to see a young woman with a doctor's coat taking some notes, before turning to look at me.

“Hi, how are we feeling today?” The doctor said, smiling at me, signaling me to take a seat.

“I’m doing good so far,” I replied, taking a seat.

“I’m glad, now before we begin, do you have any questions?” The doctor asked, taking a seat.

“Well, what are you going to do?” I asked, so far the entire thing was unclear.

“Well, according to your family doctor, your reiatsu it’s not working properly. This can happen for various reasons, like stress, disease, and trauma just to say a few, now… what I am going to do, is heal your reiatsu by filling the gaps yours created with mine, this process is painless, and by the time I’m done with it, you will feel better than ever!” She finished with a smile.

“I see,” I nodded, “So, let’s do it?”

“Let’s,” She chuckled, and extending her hands towards me, a blue warm light engulfed my entire being, making me feel calm like never before.

This however didn’t last long as images of blood filled my head.

I blinked, my body trembling for some reason, as these images kept flooding my brain more and more.

At first, I didn’t know what I was seeing, but as the seconds passed, the images became more and more clear, showing me something I was not prepared to see.

My death.

I died…

“Are you okay?” The doctor asked, concern lacing her tone.

I looked at her, my hands shaking, “Yes, I’m dandy,” I lied, after all, how could I explain what I had seen.

“Your reiatsu was flaring,” Mr. Unknown stated, frowning, before he turned to glare at the doctor, “Did you hurt him?”

“Heavens no,” The doctor shook her head.

“She didn’t, just tired,” I lied once again.

“Well, I’m almost done,” The doctor smiled awkwardly, as she continued to heal me.

More images filling my head, this time the images I was seeing didn’t belong to me, but to the kid I was supposed to be.

————————————————————————-

After my arguably traumatic visit to the doctor, I was left in the room where everything began.

And all I could think was, what was I supposed to do now…

“Nii-san,” Jesus fucking Christ!

I understandably jumped back startled at her sudden appearance.

“Hi,” I replied, after catching my breath.

“Are you okay?” Mini Houdini asked, no… that wasn’t her name, I… I knew her name, Shaolin Feng.

“I’m perfect,” I lied, wondering when would the lies ever stop.