Day One

My name is Kushinada Sayaka.

It wasn't always Kushinada Sayaka.

I became Kushinada Sayaka after I died of appendicitis in the middle of my medical exam and was reborn sometime during Japan's Feudal era. I was glad that I took Japanese in college. It was a shame that despite knowing the language fluently, I was an infant and therefore couldn't do shit.

Also, no running water.

Lucky me.

Day Six

I lived with my mother and twelve other girls in a Shrine to the Shinto god, Inari.

Life, as far as I was concerned, was good.

Now, if only I could get that creepy old lady to stop looking at me.

Day Twenty-four

My mother sang me a song about cherry blossoms.

It was nice.

Month One, Day Eight

The creepy old lady was a ghost.

My first clue was the fact that nobody seemed to notice her presence. Then I saw her walk through a wall.

My name is Kushinada Sayaka, and I can see dead people.

Month One, Day Twelve

I attempted to communicate with the old lady ghost.

Then I remembered that I was a month old and stopped before I could embarrass myself.

The old lady looked at me looking at her and smiled.

And then she disappeared with a flash of light.

Month One, Day Thirteen

I'm still not sure what happened.

Month Three, Day Twenty-seven

My mother is the head shrine maiden. Her protégé is a thirteen-year-old girl named Sakamoto Iroha. Iroha has a bubbly, happy-go-lucky personality. She also has green hair.

Iroha was the one to point out the fact that my teeth were coming in and that it was a wonder that I wasn't screaming bloody murder.

This confused me. Wasn't teething supposed to hurt like hell?

I shrugged off my confusion, going back to innocent baby mode.

Year One, Month Two, Day Seven

I tried to walk. I failed.

I ended up with a giant cut on my knee that I didn't notice until my mother pointed it out.

Year One, Month Two, Day Eight

Congenital insensitivity to pain is literally exactly what it sounds like: the inability to feel pain.

Unfortunately, I was reborn with it.

Allow me to put into context how bad the disease is.

I could touch a pot that had just been on the fire and get second to third-degree burns without noticing.

I could break a bone and not notice until it gets infected and kills me.

I had my suspicions that I had it. I confirmed said suspicions by banging my head against a tree repeatedly, crying because I couldn't feel it.

My mother found me an hour later, my head bruised and bloody and tears streaming down my face. She didn't ask what happened, and for that I was glad. She merely took me in her arms and sang the cherry blossom song until I stopped crying and fell asleep.

Year One, Month Nine, Day Two

My hair began growing in. My mother put me in front of a mirror so that I could see what I looked like.

I looked like your average Asian toddler.

Except I had purple hair.

What.

Year Four, Month Five, Day Nineteen

I saw a monster with a mask just outside the shrine gates.

My first though was, The fuck kind of world is this? Then I saw the hole in the monster's torso and then everything clicked.

Ah. That's a hollow. I must be in Bleach. That would explain the old lady ghost I saw when I was younger, and it would explain the wacky hair color. I was surprised by how calm I was about the whole realization that I was in an anime.

"Sayaka-chan!" Iroha's voice drew me from my thoughts. "Your mother wants to speak with you!"

I turned toward the sound of her voice, "Coming, nee-san!" Before I left, I turned to look at the hollow again, only to see it was gone. In its place was an old, bearded man wearing all black with a white haori over his shoulders. He had a sword.

"Sayaka-chan!" Iroha called again.

I sighed. A hollow and a Shinigami in one day?

I had a really bad feeling.

Year Four, Month Five, Day Twenty

My mother offered to train me as a shrine maiden.

I accepted, because what else what I going to do?

And maybe I watched a bit too much InuYasha in my old life.

Year Six, Month Three, Day Seventeen

"The birds are quiet today," my mother said softly, pausing in the middle of her calligraphy. "Something terrible is going to happen."

I hummed, concentrating on my own calligraphy.

A few days later, word came that a nearby village was burned to the ground.

Year Seven, Month Twelve, Day Twenty-nine

With just a few more days until the New Year's celebration, the shrine was absolutely chaotic, what with the decorations, the cleaning, and general maintenance. I took advantage of the quiet that came with the nighttime to take a peaceful walk, and maybe put down some more purification seals while I was at it.

For the first twenty minutes or so, everything was great. While chilly, it truly was a beautiful night. Without all the city lights and pollution of the twenty-first century, I could see every star in the sky.

I did put down a few purification seals where I felt particularly negative energy, but mostly, I just walked.

Just when I was about to head back to bed, I caught the flickering glow of a fire out of the corner of my eye.

That's weird, I thought. I was sure I put out all the fires.

Cautiously, I approached the source of the glow, making sure to take small, light steps, so as to not make any noise.

And I came face-to-face with an old man holding a ball of fire between his hands. This wasn't just any old man; this was the same old man I saw three years ago at the gate of the shrine. The sword on the ground next to him, which further proved my point.

However, as astonished as I was at the fact that there was a Shinigami right in front of me, the old man wasn't supposed to be at the shrine.

The problem was, I didn't know what to say. Hey, I know you're supposed to be invisible and all, but you really aren't allowed to be here. Please don't murder me to death with your zanpakutou.

So I sat down on the ground right in front of the Shinigami and waited until he noticed me.

After about five minutes of me not being noticed, I tapped into my inner seven-year-old.

And I tugged the man's beard. Hard.

He let out an undignified mixture between a grunt and a squeal. It took two lifetimes worth of self-control to not burst out laughing.

"I thought you were dead, oya-jii. Also, your hands were on fire. You should get that checked out," I babbled aimlessly. Pleasedontkillme.

The old Shinigami cleared his throat. "All is well, child. I was merely surprised."

"Really?" I blinked innocently. If I wanted to talk to this guy, I needed to act like a regular kid. "I was sitting in front of you for a while, and you didn't notice me."

He blinked. "I see. I apologize for worrying you."

I shrugged. "It's alright. I just had to wake you up 'cause you're not supposed to be here." I paused. "Hey, oya-jii. What's your name? I can't keep calling you oya-jii, can I?" Good, I thought to myself. Jumping from one subject to another.

The man looked amused. "Isn't it common courtesy to give your name before asking another's first?"

I cursed myself inwardly for forgetting about manners. I bowed slightly at the waist. "My name is Kushinada Sayaka. Nice to meet you!"

The old man bowed as well. "I am Yamamoto Genryūsai. It is nice to meet you too, Kushinada-kun."

Yamamoto…Genryūsai…?

I took in the man's appearance, along with the zanpakutou on the ground.

Right. This is Bleach, was my first thought.

My second thought was, Holy shit I just tugged on Yamamoto Genryūsai's beard.

And then I passed out, because the shock was too much for me.

Year Seven, Month Twelve, Day Thirty

I woke up the following morning in the room I shared with Iroha and Yayoi.

I would have believed that the encounter was a dream, had it not been for the burn that lined my left arm. I wouldn't have noticed that it was there had it not been for Yayoi screaming for my mother upon seeing me.

I would have a nasty scar once the wound healed. Throughout the whole process of being bandaged, my mother sang the cherry blossom song to calm me down.

Year Seven, Month Twelve, Day Thirty-one

During the chaos that was the New Year's festival, I spotted Yamamoto near the gates of the shrine. He appeared to be looking for something.

I guessed that that thing was me.

So I turned around and walked the opposite direction. Yeah, I could see ghosts and hollows and Shinigami, but like hell I was getting caught up in all of it.

Year Ten, Month Eleven, Day Eight

I didn't see Yamamoto again after that and frankly, I was perfectly fine with it. Last thing I needed was to run into the Soutaicho of the Gotei 13 after I tugged his beard.

The mood was heavy at the shrine lately. I often overheard the words Oda and Nobunaga in the same sentence in that particular order.

The territory the shrine was located in was relatively neutral. However, there were rumors that Nobunaga wanted to take it over.

Naturally, we were scared.

And we had every right to be.

Year Thirteen, Month Seven, Day Thirty

It started like any other day.

It was nice out; not too warm, not too cold. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Iroha and I were sent to town to buy "the essentials" as she put it: food, cloth, thread, ink, paper, and brushes.

Iroha suggested that we split up to make the trip faster. "Then we'll meet at the noodle stand at noon, alright?"

I rolled my eyes because I knew Iroha had a crush on the boy that worked there, but agreed regardless. She handed me half of the money we were given for the errand and we went separate ways. I finished my shopping relatively quickly, as everything I needed was in one stand. To kill time, I decided to walk around. My mother's birthday was coming up. While we never really did anything to celebrate birthdays, I always made sure to do something special for her. I stopped at a stall selling hairpins despite knowing I could never afford any of them. I picked up a simple jade hairpin and held it up to the sun to admire it. The old lady in charge of the stand smiled at me. "Not many people bother to look at that one. It's quite beautiful despite its simplicity, no?"

"Ah, it really is," I said. "My mother would love it. She can always see the beauty in simplicity." I went to put the hairpin back, but the old lady grabbed my wrist.

"Take it," she said with a strange look in her eyes. "It will help you in your future." I opened my mouth to protest, but she shook her head and closed my fingers around the hairpin. "Please."

Wordlessly, I nodded and put the hairpin in my sleeve. "Thank you," I said with a bow.

I heard the screams before anything else. Then the old lady had an arrow sticking out of her chest. A scream left my mouth before I knew it and I ran.

But I didn't run to the safety of the shrine. WHYWHYWHYWHY my mind screamed. I ran to find Iroha. I didn't know what was going on, but my best guess was that one of the feudal lords decided to claim the village. This guess was verified by the samurai who were fighting with the ronin who occupied the village.

"IROHA NEE-SAN!" I shouted. I saw Iroha running toward me, and relief washed over me. "Iroha, I'm so glad-"

"We need to leave, Sayaka. We need to go to the shrine," Iroha said desperately once she reached me. There was blood on her face.

"Iroha nee-san what happened?" I asked.

She ignored me and grabbed my wrist before running toward the shrine. As we ran, I saw burning buildings and the corpses of ronin, samurai, and civilians. There was no way this was a feudal lord attack. It was too brutal. There was no honor in it. These were men who didn't fear the wrath of gods.

Iroha and I arrived at the shrine out of breath. We saw Yayoi standing in the center of the courtyard.

"Yayoi!" Iroha exclaimed. We ran toward her. Yayoi was covered in blood and she was crying. "Yayoi, what happened?"

"They're monsters. They said they're going to kill us all!" she sobbed, collapsing to her knees. "What have we done? Why has Inari-dono forsaken us?"

I felt my heart clench at the thought of my sisters being slaughtered. I gritted my teeth. "Where is my mother?"

Iroha looked at me, her face pale. "Sayaka-chan. Whatever you're thinking-"

"Yayoi," I put my hands on her shoulders. "Tell me where my mother is."

"They-they're all at the pond," Yayoi stammered. "Sayaka-chan, please don't do anything rash."

I barely registered anything else. I ran to the pond. The only thing on my mind was saving my family.

Upon reaching the pond, I saw the shrine maidens herded together, a samurai pointing his sword at them. My mother was tied to a tree with numerous lashes decorating her bare back. Another samurai was standing to the side of her with a whip in hand. Each time he brought the whip down, the shrine maidens let out cries, and the other samurai laughed. My mother was silent, save for the number she said each time she was hit.

"KA-CHAN!" I screamed. The samurai stopped laughing upon hearing my cry, and my mother's eyes widened. I ran toward them, only to be struck by the flat of a blade hitting my stomach. It didn't hurt, but the force of the blow made me fall.

"Now what do we have here?" the samurai with the whip said. He grabbed my hair and lifted me up. I glared at him, which caused him to laugh. "I've gotta say, most girls would be crying by now. This bitch has a backbone, eh?" he said to the other samurai, who laughed in response.

"You fucking coward," I spat. "Killing innocent people. Torturing women. What's the honor in that? What are you doing to her?"

The samurai dropped me. "We just made a simple deal with your dear mother. 500 lashes without screaming or passing out and we'll leave the village!"

500 lashes? I stared at my mother, who was looking at me with pain in her eyes. Nobody could go through 500 lashes without passing out. Nobody except for me…

"I'll take her place." I said automatically.

"Sayaka no!" my mother cried. "Please leave her alone!"

The samurai stroked his beard. "Tempting offer. But you did hurt my feelings by calling me a coward. You'll have to do better than that." He unsheathed his tanto and dropped it at my feet. "If you perform seppuku right here, right now, I'll leave this village forever." He finished with a grin that made me want to punch him in the face.

My heart was beating loudly in my chest and blood rushed in my ears as I stared at the blade in front of me. I took one look at my mother and my sisters and grabbed the tanto.

"Sayaka?" my mother said. "What are you doing?"

I had studied Japanese culture in college, so I knew the process of seppuku pretty well. I also knew that cutting one's stomach open was extremely painful. Luckily, I wouldn't have to deal with that. At least that was my only solace.

I plunged the tanto into my abdomen. The grin on the samurai's face fell. "H-hey, what are you-"

The screams from my mother and sisters were faint as I cut from left to right. I did so with a blank expression, staring into the eyes of the samurai, who had dropped the whip in shock. Once I had completely cut through my abdomen I threw the tanto in the pond and spit at his feet.

"Tell the men to retreat," he said to the samurai pointing a sword at the shrine maidens (although he was gaping at me like a dying fish at this point but I digress).

My vision was starting to fade and I felt very cold. I closed my eyes. Well, it looks like I'm dying again. You fucking idiot. I felt myself being held in someone's arms and I opened my eyes to see that my mother was holding me, tears streaming down her face. "Sayaka… My baby…"

"Don't worry," I said weakly, "It's just a scratch."

She laughed between sobs. "Only you would joke about something like this." She caressed my cheek with one of her hands. "Why?"

"One life lost is nothing compared to the lives of many," I said. It was getting hard to breathe, and I couldn't see anything at this point. "Ka-chan…Can you sing the song? The cherry blossom song?"

And she sang. She sang for me until I could hear no more and my heart stopped.

Day One

I opened my eyes in front of an unfamiliar shrine. I looked around. I seemed to be in a really crappy town. I was dressed in my normal shrine maiden attire, but I had no shoes. I was confused, as I was pretty sure I had just died.

Wait.

I'm in Bleach.

"Fuck."

So this is my new story! It's a Bleach semi-SI-OC (obviously) and shit just went down amirite?

I dunno how often this thing will be updated, but hopefully I won't lose inspiration for it.

Also please pardon any historical inaccuracies because unlike Sayaka I have not studied Japanese history.

Thanks for reading! Please review with feedback/suggestions/things that are historically inaccurate and should be fixed!