Lost and Found

Prologue: Another Failed Experiment

A/N: After reading BlumberBerry's "Miniature Murcielago", I just had to write something with mini-Ulquiorra-kawaiiness. Just a quick note, this story doesn't quite follow the anime. Instead of being trapped in Hueco Mundo while Aizen and the others went to Fake-Karakura, the Captains are able to contact the soul society and have a portal opened. Aizen hasn't appeared in the 'Real World' yet. Don't worry; the story will tie back into Tite Kubo's plot—somewhat—a little later on.

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach. I just had the inspiration to write this. Hope you enjoy anyway!

"Quickly, Nemu! I have no time for your insubordinate slowness!"

"Yes Kurotsuchi-sama." The pale girl with a dark braid nodded solemnly. But she couldn't go any faster. She was already right on her master's heels.

The tall man hadn't even heard himself talk. It was an automatic command. His mind was somewhere else; therefore he didn't bother to look back at his lieutenant to see if she'd followed the order. Nemu tightened her grip on the container in her hands.

The two briskly made their way through the halls of the 12th Division. Even though many of the Shinigami were bustling about, they all somehow managed to press against the wall to get out of their Captain's way. It was as if his massive spiritual pressure formed an invisible barrier around himself and Nemu, who was right behind him. Knowing the mad-scientist and his inventions, he'd probably done just that.

BANG!

The man threw open the double doors to his lab after making his way down more hallways and descending seemingly-endless flights of stairs.

"Kurotsuchi-taicho!"

"Did you do as I told you?" the man demanded. His golden eyes were wide and menacing. His skin appeared to be painted: snow white with black on his face. Large golden teeth stood out against the black painted down the middle of his face. His long blue hair was styled into a horn-looking headdress, reaching over and past his shoulders. A golden head ornament framed his face. His white haori with the Japanese character for 12 on the back billowed out around him, making him seem even bigger as he loomed over his poor subordinate. This was Mayuri Kurotsuchi; Captain of Squad 12 and current President of the Research and Development Department in the Gotei 13.

"H-hai, taicho." The young soul reaper answered. Even if Kurotsuchi was his captain, the boy was afraid. 'Who wouldn't be?'

"Good." Kurotsuchi replied. He brushed past the frozen Shinigami. "Now get out of my sight."

After a moment taken to get his legs to work again, the small soul reaper bowed and scurried past Nemu, out of the lab.

"All of you," Kurotsuchi rounded of the hesitating group of soul reapers who were tending to his latest experiments. "Get out! I have important business to attend to in too little time."

"Hai, Kurotsuchi-taicho!" they chorused. They left in a hurried mob.

"Nemu!"

"Hai." Nemu Kurotsuchi—Mayuri's 'daughter'—already knew what to do. As 12th Division's Fuku-taicho and assistant head of the Research Department, she knew to do things without him telling her. After all, he had programmed her.

While Kurotsuchi sat in his large chair in front of his many large monitors, typing away at his large keyboard, Nemu set to work as well. She set the box in her hands down gently on a lab counter. She released the Binding Spell placed on the box and lifted the lid. Slipping on her standard face mask, Nemu pulled out a small, dark plastic bag. It was a small shifty weight in her hands, like holding a bag of sand. 'Ironically,' she thought, 'that's some of what this bag's contents are.'

Nemu briefly wondered if this experiment would actually work, considering the extremely limited amount of time they had to work with. She felt a twinge of pity for the new victim. But Nemu knew better than to question her master's wishes. She learned the hard way the last time Kurotsuchi took her apart.

"Nemu, hurry up!" Kurotsuchi ordered. He didn't even look over his shoulder though, and Nemu was slightly relieved her hadn't really caught her in a daze. The continuous clicking of Mayuri's black finger nails on the keys seemed loud in the room.

"Hai."

A short while later, Nemu was hurrying noiselessly around the room; following her captain's instructions. Beakers of different concoctions lined the counter tops. Machines were beeping in anticipation. Glinting observation tools sat, unmoved since their time of usefulness had been completed. Kurotsuchi's eyes were wide as his mind captured and calculated every bit of information flashing across the big screen in front of him.

And in the middle of the organized chaos, a metal tray sat, waiting on a, observation table. On it were the contents of the black plastic bag: a mixture of strange sand with an even stranger ash-substance. All 'souvenirs' from the Captain and Vice-Captain's trip to Hueco Mundo.

"That's it!" Kurotsuchi cried, throwing his hands up suddenly and rolling back slightly in his chair. "It's so simple. I can't believe I didn't figure it out until now!"

Nemu stood frozen, awaiting whatever orders she knew her master would give her next.

"Nemu, prepare the Reiatsu Manifester and DNA Manipulation Chamber." Mayuri ordered his assistant as he stood up.

While Nemu began to mix formulas for said machines, the 12th Division stormed over to the tray of ash. He picked up the tray carefully. "Nemu!"

"Preparations complete, Kurotsuchi-sama."

"Che." Mayuri walked the tray over to the Manifester, a large, complicated thing like everything else in the lab, and dumped the contents of the tray. The ash and sand made a swishing sound as it disappeared into the darkness.

After a long while, the ash/sand and its duplicated molecules were moved to the Manipulation Chamber. The stuff swirled around in the crimson, reiatsu-rich serum, like a black tornado under water. Finally, the molecules began to attract one another, taking on a shaped form.

'It's actually working.' Nemu thought in shock as the shape shifted and molded itself in the blood-looking liquid.

"I can't believe that actually worked." Mayuri admitted thoughtfully aloud. "I never thought it would work with an Espada ranked hollow. I guess the Hougyoku's power made it easy to do, since arrancar have some Shinigami reiatsu, therefore making one vulnerable to my equipment." He chuckled evilly to himself, please by his own genius.

Nemu was quiet. Her green eyes were locked on the large, transparent chamber. Minutes ticked by, Mayuri still muttering in amusement to himself about how he'd have to get another specimen to test on. After what seemed like an eternity (but was really until the next morning), the thing in the tank condensed into a small black form.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Nemu jerked awake by the sudden outburst. She'd fallen asleep leaning against a counter. How she slept in that position could have only been a feature Mayuri added while creating her. Or not.

The dark-purple haired Soul Reaper stood up straight and looked to where her master stood in shock. His mouth was slightly ajar, his bright yellow eyes staring straight ahead. Nemu followed his gaze and her own dark green eyes widened a little. They were looking at the large tank that now contained green liquid instead of red.

The shapeless black form of ash was gone. In its place was a small, much more defined form. Taking a few steps forward, Nemu discovered it looked like a bat. The black winds were curled around the main body like a cocoon, so she couldn't really tell what it was.

'It has wings like a bat…it's small like a bat…but…it's not a bat…?'

"Nemu, what is this?" Kurotsuchi turned on his lieutenant accusingly.

"I don't know, sir." Nemu answered calmly. Her dark, slightly parted bangs reached down her forehead. Her short black kimono with puffed upper-sleeves was tied with a traditional white obi and a red cord-fastening. She wore a matching red choker and a melancholic expression. The 12th Division's Lieutenant Badge was tied around her left bicep, and on her hands she wore white gloves that only covered the backs of her hands and wrists. Nemu's skin was flawless: the prideful work of her father/ creator. The face mask she used hours before hung from her neck.

"What do you mean you 'don't know'," Mayuri brought up his hand to strike her. "You worthless failure of an experiment!"

But Nemu was already out of his reach. In a blink she was on the other side of the room near a big printing machine. Readings were spitting out on a long, endless roll of charts that Nemu scanned as she caught the paper.

"The vitals appear to be normal." Nemu said. "Brain activity should be commencing momentarily."

"I don't care if the damned thing can think!" Mayuri shouted, coming towards Nemu. "How are we supposed to use Aizen's own weapon against him with this mere trash!"

'Trash…a voice…just said…trash…'

Nemu remained quiet as Mayuri snatched the graphs out of her hands.

"I knew the sample was too small." The 12th Captain declared. "I'll just have to go back and get another."

"Yes, Kurotsuchi-sama." Nemu said, about to follow her creator out the door when he spun around to face her.

"Not you Nemu." He said. He pointed at the tank holding the bat-thing. "You stay here and clean up this mess. I want that failure destroyed by the time I get back!"

'Failure…'

Nemu expertly hid her cringe until Mayuri was gone. Then she sighed and turned, slowly approaching the Chamber. She put her right hand one the glass, tracing it down so it looked as if she were touching the creature.

'The poor thing…' Nemu thought. Although she rarely showed emotion, she had a deep compassion for living things and always regretted killing. She wouldn't dare tell Mayuri this, but she wished he would be kinder towards his test subjects. It didn't seem fair to kill them just because his experiments didn't have the desirable results. Perhaps Nemu felt closer to the experiments because she herself had been one.

'But I must do as Mayuri-sama says…' Nemu sighed.

While Nemu stood there gazing at the tank in a daze, emerald green eyes cracked open.

'Where…where am I?'

Two bat wings began to uncurl, allowing the small orbs to sleepily take in their surroundings. The creature discovered he was floating in a liquid whose color was similar to that of his eyes. This didn't register though. The creature just thought, 'this color is familiar…'

Then, so far away, the creature could hazily make out a pale hand. With no way of knowing the hand pressed against the glass belonged to Nemu (the creature didn't even realize it was in a tank yet), the creature's mind thought only one familiar word. Although it didn't know at first why the word was so significant.

'Orihime…'

A/N: Okay, I know the characters might be a little OOC, and a lot of you might be bored or confused. Sorry. But I had to write this kind of sort of like a foundation for the story. Hence the term: "prologue".

What do you guys think? Should I continue? The actual first chapter should be more interesting.