Nemu vs. Shirou (Victim's of Fate Spoiler)

Within the Gotei 13, as it’s name implied, there were 13 divisions. While most divisions took on a variety of tasks, There were a few of them which focused their efforts into a singular objective. One such example was the Second Division, run by Captain Soifon, which specialized in stealth. Alternatively, the Eleventh Division, run by Captain Zaraki, specialized in combat.

The Twelfth Division was another such example, one that focused around science and technology.

Standing in front of a computer within one of the labs of the Twelfth Division was the captain of that division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. While most captains were immediately recognized due to their reputation (in addition to the white hoari that symbolized their position) Mayuri’s appearance was one that stood out even amongst his peers. His face took a distinctly skeletal appearance, the entirety of it painted white with the inner portion black save for his nose, and his teeth were constantly bared in a caricature of a smile.

Though that ‘smile’ was currently grimacing in anger, the sight of which would have been enough of a sign for anybody to escape the vicinity.

“Nemu! Where are you, you worthless cretin?!”

Mayuri impatiently waited, a scowl on his painted face, as he stared at the results on the screen. Within moments, a young woman in black robes walked into the lab, her violet hair kept in a braid and her expression the picture of neutrality.

As soon as he saw her Mayuri scoffed, “There you are, it took you long enough,” he sneered in disdain. “Tell me, how is it that an abnormality showed up on the sensors without you even realizing it?!”

Nemu tilted her head slightly in a rare show of surprise. “I was observing the results of the latest experiments in Lab 21, and I didn’t think that -”

She saw the backhand coming, yet didn’t do anything to stop it. That wouldn’t serve any purpose but to make him angrier.

The blow connected, though it didn’t contain enough strength to seriously hurt her. He truly must have been distracted.

“Ah yes, I should have realized that that was the problem, you ‘thought’.” He mocked as he violently turned to the computer screen once more, letting her pick herself up. “And because you decided to try ‘thinking’, you caused us to miss an abnormality that walked right in the middle of the Seireitei! Just thinking of the potential tests that could have been run…” He growled, ignoring Nemu as she walked up behind him to view the results.

“I was under the impression that most of the sensors had been removed, Master?” She asked, even as she looked at the various screens of data.

When the Shinigami discovered that Kurotsuchi had put up various sensors around the city for ‘observation purposes’, most became extremely upset and had demanded their removal on the basis of it being a breach of privacy.

Kurotsuchi had then made a show of removing them, but had kept a number of them up. Most of those were then discovered and removed by either the Second Division or Yachiru (the lieutenant of the Eleventh Division had thought it was a game of hide and seek, and had taken great joy in discovering as many devices as she could. Especially when Captain Bakuya had secretly informed her that she would be given candy for each device she found).

“Well, seeing as how I am talking about receiving data from one of them, then that must mean that it is from one of the ones that remain up, isn’t it?” He replied testily, to which she nodded.

He then brought up a picture showing a red-headed man with amber eyes.

“According to the logs, this is Shirou Emiya.” Mayuri informed her, “He came to visit some brats in the Academy two days ago. After that visit, he got permission to enter the city with the intention of visiting Captain Soifon.”

Nemu looked at the info calmly, “What relation does he have with the Stealth Division?”

The scientist waved the question away dismissively, “there is nothing in the records, so he does not work for her. Perhaps it was a social call. That is not important however. On the way there, he encountered a group of morons from the 11th division, something that soon escalated into a fight.” He gave a bark of laughter, “He defeated them with ease.”

‘That’s unusual’ Nemu thought to herself. While they were primarily grunts, she would have thought that they could take on somebody that just came from the Rukongai.

“Unfortunately for him, that attracted the attention of Captain Zaraki, and the oaf immediately challenged the redhead.” He continued before scoffing, “Unsurprisingly, the oaf won. But during the fight my sensor discovered something interesting…”

He brought up a video, and she watched in silence as the two fought. The newcomer, Shirou, was faring rather well against the violent captain (which was surprising in and of itself), but Kenpachi still had his eyepatch on, so he was obviously not yet taking the fight seriously.

At one point in the fight however, Shirou had jumped back and seemed to be distracted by something. Moments after, the twin swords he was using disappeared into motes of blue light. At first, Kenpachi appeared to be angry, though his expression changed into glee after the redhead said something, and a different sword appeared in his hands.

It was large and clunky, more akin to an iron club than a sword. Muscles tensing, Shirou then launched himself at the Captain once more, his fighting style seemingly changing with the change in weaponry.

“There…” Mayuri murmured with a greedy smile, “That right there, as he created that new sword… The sensors detected an unknown energy in the air, something that coalesced and created that weapon. Once it was discovered, trace amounts of that energy were discovered throughout the man’s body. I would almost say that it was similar to that of a Quincy, but there are too many differences for that to be an answer.”

He turned to Nemu once more, “You were the one that failed to notify me of this development,” He spat out, “So I want you to go collect him and bring him back so I can figure out what that energy is. Don’t damage him too much.”

“Of course, Master.” She responded immediately, “I won’t disappoint you.”

“Hmph. That would be a miracle in and of itself.” He sneered, “But I digress. He left this morning for the Rukongai, so I want you to leave immediately to catch up with him.”

“Very well.”

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[This is just a teaser. Normally I would leave it right here, but there is one more scene that I wanted to give that I feel is important.]

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Nemu dodged another blow, landing one of her own against the redhead before quickly jumping backwards.

Her opponent, Shirou, had an interesting style of fighting. One that involved leaving openings and expecting his opponent to strike at those locations. Knowing this, he would then be able to predict where the enemy's weapon would be, allowing him to move before the enemy had begun their own move.

Clearly a style created to counter those that were faster than he was.

Unfortunately for him, the amount of spiritual power that one had was truly unfair.

Technique is created to counter Strength, but it can only go so far. There comes a point when Strength can simply overpower Technique, and that is what somebody with greater Spiritual Power can do.

She was well versed in analyzing opponents, and she would estimate Shirou’s strength to be that of a lower lieutenant's in strength. Certainly an achievement to somebody that had not gone through the Academy, but hardly unprecedented. Kenpachi Zaraki had challenged the former Captain of the Eleventh Division and had beaten him without going through the Academy after all.

Had she been anybody other lieutenant then Shirou might have actually beaten her after falling into his trap. However, she was a creation of Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi - an enhanced artificial soul. She was strong enough to hold the position of a lieutenant, and had been trained endlessly in analysis and various techniques ever since her ‘birth’. Even without going all out, she was well aware that she could defeat Shirou Emiya.

There was a flaw in his style. Since he was anticipating and planning on the opponent to attack his openings, what would happen if, instead, his guarded sides were attacked?

His openings become traps - simultaneously his guard would become open.

Even now, she had adjusted her own power level to be right above his own and was simply waiting for him to wear himself out. She didn’t want to damage him before delivering himself to her father.

Suddenly, he leaped back and frowned at her. She looked at him with detached curiosity when he suddenly spoke, “Why are you attacking me?”

She almost sighed. He had already asked that earlier. It wasn’t like her answer would have changed. But then… Why did it feel as if he was asking something different?

“I was told to do so.” She replied.

He narrowed his eyes at her, “You fight well… Incredibly so. But it feels… empty.” He mused.

She cocked her eye at him. He had been so silent before, why so chatty now? “And your fighting style is suicidal.”

He blinked in surprise before giving out a bark of laughter, “That’s what I’ve been told,” and yet the look never left his eye. The way he kept getting distracted was most likely because he was talking with his Zanpakuto (no, she wasn’t jealous of others for having a Zanpakuto. She was well aware that she was different… Mayuri himself had told her often enough. Artificial souls like her simply couldn’t have a Zanpakuto). But this latest look felt like he was looking deeper than she was used to, and seeing far more than what others did.

“I see…” He murmured, his head bowing slightly.

She blinked. What did he see?

He lifted his head once more and gave her a look that was tinged in sadness, “You think that you’re just a tool.” He murmured. “But... that’s not true… And you need not be alone.”

… Since when were they talking about this? She shook her head, “What I am or am not is irrelevant.” For she knew the truth - it had been drilled into her since the day of her birth after all. A tool is all that she was, and all that she would ever be. Mayuri was the one that created her after all. He was her father, he knew her best. If he said she would become nothing more than a tool, than how could the possibility exist otherwise?

“One way or the other, you will be coming with me.” She raised her index and middle finger together and pointed them towards the man, “Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini. Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat. Bakudo #9, Horin."

An orange hued tendril shot out of her fingers and encircled her opponent. To her surprise, he didn’t do anything to dodge or resist, and had even allowed his swords to disappear.

She frowned. She had put enough strength in the spell to bind him based on the strength he had shown, and since they had been fighting for a while he shouldn’t have enough strength to resist something like this…

So why?

Why was he still giving her that look?

He opened his mouth, but instead of some sort of philosophical argument or plea to let him go, he stated “Otome no Teisetsu”.

Her confusion lasted only for a second before, with the sound of crackling lightning, another weapon appeared in his hands, a wave of spirtual power accompanying it, and she quickly reinforced her binding.

A Zanpakuto. His Shikai release?

Looking at the weapon though, she found herself confused once more.

Instead of the twin swords he was using before, or the club like sword that he used against Kenpachi, this one took the appearance of a large mace  (Possibly a warhammer, though the spherical head gave her pause.)

It crackled with electricity, branch like lighting coursing up and down its shaft, and she looked blankly at her bound opponent.

“Do you truly think that this is enough to let you escape and win?”

Even if he could escape the bindings, they would simply fight once more, and she had already proven to have the upper hand. Furthermore, during their fight he had been struggling to land a blow against her.

A warhammer was best used against armored opponents, to provide a greater blow. If he failed to hit her when he was using his twin blades (which were meant for speed) then what made him think that this would make a difference?

He shrugged, his sad smile never leaving. “She wanted to meet you.” He replied cryptically, “And... “ He pursed his lips, “You really shouldn’t judge her by her looks.”

Nemu tilted her head, and for an instant she thought that she saw another figure standing next to Shirou. A woman in a white dress with short pink hair, looking at her with an intense look.

Before she could think of that however, the warhammer in Shirou’s hands began to crackle with lightning once more, and she felt a surge of spiritual power.

She focused on it, and she spent the next several moments trying to understand what it was that she was sensing.

In the spirit world, there was a far greater amount of ambient spiritual energy in the air when compared to the World of the Living. What she was sensing, however, was that ambient energy being drawn into the shaft of the weapon, where it was then shifting as it slowly reached the head. Within the head, the crackling of electricity slowly increasing in rhythmic bursts, she felt a surge of shock as she realized that it was increasing.

Shirou, for his part, held Otome calmly as he slowly felt himself becoming stronger. Though he hadn’t known about her before, simply bringing her into being from his mind showed him far more than a simple look could give.

More than just a weapon, Otome could do far more than just smash things. Gathering spiritual and bioelectric energy from the atmosphere, she could process it, and through a method that Shirou didn’t understand she converted it into electricity. The reactor within the head of the hammer, the heart and core of Otome’s being, then took that energy and transferred it to Shirou himself.

Within an area of high spiritual power, Otome no Teisetsu became a pseudo-Type II Perpetual Motion Engine. And the Rukongai definitely counted as being high in spiritual power.

With a surge of strength Shirou shattered the bindings, taking Nemu completely by surprise. Even as she raised her hands to perform another Bakudo, she saw the ground crater as he launched himself behind her.

The move caught her completely unprepared. Even if he had broken the bindings, he shouldn’t have been able to move that quickly - she had already assessed his strength and speed, had lowered her own to match his own to avoid hurting him too much - for him to regain his strength that quickly was unprecedented.

With as much speed as she could gather she quickly turned around and raised her own katana to block the blow that she knew was coming, bracing herself as best as she could as she started remaking plans.

All of those plans were dashed the moment the hammer struck, and her body erupted in pain as lightning coursed through her body, locking muscles and sending her mind into shock.

She was dimly aware that she had been sent flying, but her muscles were unresponsive. Her flight was stopped short as she collided into something, but she wasn’t aware of what that was as her vision began to darken.

She… had failed.

With what little consciousness she had left she felt a surge of disappointment for failing Master Mayuri in such a way. Still, at least he wouldn’t be able to punish her. An unconscious person on the battlefield was as good as dead.

Before everything went black she saw the pink haired girl once more. She was see through, almost like she was a mirage She kneeled in front of Nemu and  delicately brushed the hair out of her eyes, looking at her in concern.

“I see… You are what she would have been, had he actually accepted her.” She mused softly, and Nemu found herself even more confused by the words spoken. She couldn’t fight back the darkness after that though, and soon fell into the void.

“Please, do not worry. My wielder shall look after you.”

“You no longer need to be alone.”

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Mayuri slammed his hand into the desk, absolutely furious.

“That idiotic, moronic girl!”

He had been watching everything - sensors located throughout the entirety of Nemu’s body had shown him the fight from start to finish. Except at the end there, when that boy hit her with the hammer. All of the devices had been completely fried somehow, which shouldn’t have been possible! Each and every one of them had been stress tested thoroughly. As pathetic as she was, Nemu’s body should have given out before they did!

Which, perhaps was a sign to show how strong that blow was…

Undoubtedly Nemu was now dead, and he couldn’t afford to send anybody else to chase after ‘Shirou Emiya’ as that would attract the attention of the rest of the Gotei 13.

No… The only thing he could do now was figure out the best path forward.

Nemu was gone, so he needed a replacement. Bothersome, and it would be years before the replacement gained a semblance of usefulness, but it was doable. Rather, it was the excuses that he’d have to come up with, and the ‘reasons’ for Nemu’s disappearance that was going to be the most annoying.

Mayuri growled once more even as he began making up a report.

“Stupid girl… For making me go through this ridiculousness, she should be grateful that she’s now dead!

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Author’s Notes:

So, I feel bad… I’ve been having a lot of trouble this last month in writing stories, and what inspiration I have been having has been stuff like this - future events that won’t come to fruition for some time. Also, I got into a car accident earlier this week, and that is further complicating my life.

I’m trying real hard to make sure that the next chapter I post will be “A Hero’s Blessing”, but with the way my brain is being all scattered, I don’t know if that will be the case, or even when it will be. Still, I wanted to make sure that I had something, and a teaser/spoiler for a future chapter seemed to be the result.

My imagination wanted to write it anyways, so I might as well do something with it, right?

Anyways, I know that only two people are patrons of mine - and as such only two people will read this - but I hope that you enjoy this. :)