Chapter 1: Haineko

Haineko stretched and yawned, blinking drearily as she tried to ignore the irritating voice calling her name. She rolled over onto her back, enjoying the feeling of the soft grass beneath her. A butterfly fluttered by, and she batted it half-heartedly. The voice was getting louder and louder, and more annoying by the second. It was getting harder to ignore. Honestly, just because that lazy good-for-nothing lieutenant was her wielder didn't mean she could summon Haineko all the time. The cat-human hybrid yawned again, basking in the warm sun. Here, in this lovely green meadow, was her home. It wasn't much, but it was cozy, at least.

"Haineko! Stop ignoring me! I know you can hear me!"

The zanpakuto groaned and tried to cover her ears. Why couldn't that orange-haired lady leave her alone for a few hours? Didn't she understand the meaning of privacy? Well, considering what she constantly does to her captain, probably not. Come to think of it, Haineko reflected, she had never met Hyorinmaru. In fact, she'd never met any of the other zanpakuto. She only knew them by rumor and legend. Ryujin Jakka, the most powerful of all zanpakuto; Hyorinmaru, the strongest ice zanpakuto; Sode no Shirayuki, the prettiest female zanpakuto; Sogyo no Kotowari and Katen Kyokotsu, the famous dual zanpakuto. And what was Haineko known for?

"Probably the laziest zanpakuto." She muttered to herself with a smirk. They say the zanpakuto is the reflection of the Shinigami of whom it serves. However much it disgusted Haineko to know that she was like her wielder in many ways, it was very much true. She was lazy, bored often, didn't like to work. "Why do the zanpakuto have to be the ones who come at their master's call? All we do is release ourselves at their order, and then seal ourselves once we've won the fight." Some of the unlucky zanpakuto even get a master who never release them, such as the infamous demon Kazeshini.

Haineko rolled over again with a huff. "And I'm so bored." She blew at the grass in front of her a few times before quickly tiring of it, and finally just sprawled out on a nearby rock, her tail tip flicking impatiently.

"Haineko! I'm gonna give you one last chance. Come out now!"

"Just shut up." Haineko snapped back, although she knew the lady couldn't hear her. Haineko lay her head on the side, her cheek absorbing the warmth the rock had gathered from the sun. Her arms stretched out to both sides, her fingers gripping the sides of the stone gently. Her tail was now flipping from side to side, making soft thumping noise each time it landed.

"Okay fine! Be that way, see if I care. If you want to be lazy and stubborn, then be my guest. I'm not talking to you anymore."

Haineko gave a small triumphant smile as she pawed her ear to rid it of the itch it had. "Thank you."

She sat up, legs dangling off the edge of the rock. She kicked her legs to a certain rhythm, and hummed along carelessly. "La-la-la-la I'm so bored. Yeah, I'm really bored. I've got nothing to do because I don't feel like doing anything. But I want to do something, but I'm also really lazy. La-la-la-la."

She continued this for a while before getting bored to the tune. After a few more moments of thought, she decided to sing some songs even though she sucked at singing and she knew it. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above the-." Here, she moaned and tumbled off her rock, the grass breaking her fall. "Aw man, I'm so pathetic. Why can't something exciting ever happen in my life?"

"Would you like something exciting to happen?" A deep voice questioned.

"Yeah! I would! And I'd also like to be able to give that Matsumoto a real piece of my mind." Haineko replied. Then she blinked, realizing something. This was Matsumoto's inner world, and thus only she and Haineko should be able to access this. So who could be here right now?

Alarmed, she leapt to her feet and faced the questioner, ready for any fight to come. The man standing before her was slightly taller than her, and had messy black hair. His eyes were narrowed, and had dark marks around them. His skin was extremely pale, and his fingernails were unusually long. He wore a long coat with a furred collar, the sight of it causing Haineko to bristle slightly. The expression the strange man wore said nothing less of depression or sorrow, or otherwise plain boredom. He approached her slowly, his eyes never leaving her face.

Slightly spooked, she took a small step back, baring her teeth with a warning hiss. But the man only continued until he was about two feet away from her. When he spoke, his voice was low and rich, almost soothing. "I am not here to harm you."

"Who are you?" She demanded, taking another step back. Her back pressed against the rock, and she spat, realizing she was trapped.

"There is no need to feel frightened; I only mean you well." The man went on in his deep voice. "My name is Muramasa, and I am here to free you from this prison."

"Free me?" Haineko narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Clearly you are unhappy here. And you have just admitted to me that you thirst for excitement. I can grant you freedom, and freedom promises excitement." Muramasa paused for a brief moment before continuing. "My purpose here is to free all the zanpakuto from their owners. It has become obvious to me that you are all merely slaves to the Shinigami, coming at their will and obeying and attacking whenever they call for it. I am here to prevent that from ever happening again."

"Oh yeah? And just how do you plan to do that?" Haineko sneered. "A zanpakuto can't be released from their wielder just like that. If we could, don't you think I would've done that by now?"

"Of course, I have no doubt that if you could, you would be long gone from your Shinigami's hold. But you cannot. I, however, can. It is my natural power- I can free you. I can free the zanpakuto, and I can ensure that one day, all of you will rule over the Shinigami. Their era will end, and you will all reign. That is no doubt exciting, correct?" Muramasa said.

Haineko blinked in amazement. "Rule over the… Shinigami?" Her initial instinct was to deny- of course Matsumoto was one of the worst wielders ever, but a zanpakuto should always feel some sort of loyalty, right? But then, a sharp stab of anger pricked her. She didn't want to live the rest of her life as a slave. Matsumoto could go to hell.

Muramasa must have noticed the change in her expression, because he nodded. "Excellent. So you will join me?"

The zanpakuto began to nod, before freezing. "Can you answer me one question?"

"Of course."

"How are you in here? A Shinigami's inner world is only accessible by her zanpakuto, and by herself. So how did you enter?"

"I have already told you." Muramasa answered. "It is my natural power. I can enter any Shinigami's inner world, and address their zanpakuto without them knowing it. All I must do is imagine it, and I am there. My goal is to demolish the Shinigami's reign, and bring their zanpakuto to power. After all, they only deserve as much, don't they? And you, Haineko, are my first choice. I came to you first, knowing that you would agree."

"Oh, so you knew how miserable I was here?" Haineko made sure her voice was plenty skeptical. Already Muramasa had told her much more than she'd expected, so perhaps she could pry out more.

"I know all of the zanpakuto. I know of the dark devil Kazeshini, who lives in the black mountains. I know of Sogyo no Kotowari, the twins who would never leave each other. I know of Hozukimaru, the strong but slothful ogre." He fixed his gaze on Haineko. "I know much more than you would expect, little cat."

Haineko snarled. She hated that name, and apparently, this Muramasa fellow knew it. "Don't call me that."

Muramasa blinked slowly. "I see. You find that name disgraceful. My apologies."

His tone calmed Haineko, although she wasn't sure why. The snarl disappeared from her face, replaced with a somewhat dazed look. Her mind became slightly fuzzy, but she shook her head to clear it. "Okay, so I get that you're really smart. Can we go now?"

"Yes."

Muramasa stretched out his arm, and the tips of his fingernails just barely reached Haineko. The sharp edges brushed against her forehead, and then a severe headache. A bright light flashed in front of her, but she barely noticed as she howled in pain. The headache only got worse, and then she got a pulling sensation in her stomach. She collapsed to her knees, expecting to throw up, but only a slimy yellow bile dangled out of her mouth. All through out, Muramasa had not even budged, nor made a sound. He stood calmly, as though knowing that Haineko would have been in such pain.

When the light finally faded, Haineko was crouched down, on her hands and knees, panting heavily. Her headache was subsiding, but her tail and arms were trembling. Beads of sweat lay on her forehead, but she didn't bother to wipe it off. This was the first time she'd felt like this. This was the first time she'd felt fear. Fear of the man before her.

Muramasa leaned down slightly, and offered her his hand. "I'm sorry for not warning you. I knew it would have some side effects on the zanpakuto, but I had no idea the pain would be so severe." As he spoke, no smile appeared, as Haineko would have originally expected. She wondered if he had ever even smiled or laughed in his life.

Deciding to think about that later, Haineko excepted his outstretched hand, and he pulled her to her feet. She managed to control her breathing, and wiped her mouth with an arm. She glanced around, but found it to be completely dark, save for a dimly lit staircase leading downwards.

"Come." Muramasa said before calmly heading down the stairs. Haineko hesitated, but soon followed.

As she made her way down the stairs, Haineko realized that the clearing beneath her was the ideal place for a club or at least something along those lines. There was a table near a wall, and further out there was a small spring. There were many ledges along the rocky walls, and candles flickered, providing low but acceptable light. When at last she'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Haineko dashed around, exploring the new place.

"Does this place qualify in your terms?" Muramasa asked.

Haineko smiled grimly. This man did know a lot of things; he certainly knew she was picky about fashion. "It's a bit chilly, but altogether okay."

"I'm glad it's acceptable."

The zanpakuto shrugged back before walking over to the water. She peered in, and then jumped back with a yelp. "There's something in there!"

Muramasa joined her, placing a hand on her shoulder briefly before returning it to his side. "It is nothing dangerous. Only small aquatic animals, such as fish and frogs. I thought felines enjoyed such things."

"Well I don't." Haineko replied with a sniff. "Give me a bowl of rice any day."

"I'm sorry that you have taken a disliking to the lake. Twice a day I will come down here with meals for you, and later on, the other zanpakuto. Is that okay?"

Haineko nodded. "Thank you."

Muramasa simply stared back, and then turned around and began walking towards the stairs again. "You may get settled in, for until I can gather more allies, this will be your home. For now, though, I must leave. I am going to visit another zanpakuto, and hopefully gain its alliance."

"Who are you going to see?" Haineko asked.

The man paused at the foot of the stairs and glanced at her, before turning, and beginning to climb up. "I am going to visit the zanpakuto of snow: Sode no Shirayuki. I have heard many rumors of her, such as that she is the most beautiful of all zanpakuto. Have you met her?" Clearly he wasn't expecting an answer, because he disappeared from sight, and Haineko heard a loud snap, which probably meant he had left.

"No, I haven't met her." She muttered. Then, her ears twitched, and she smiled. "But I won't be saying that for much longer."