A/N: If this story goes well, I think I will add a whole collection of one-shots like these. Please review!
Ash Cat
The world she lives in is watery. Odd, you say, since she is a cat? Some cats like water, you know. She waits inside her willow tree, she waits but she really doesn't have the patience. But Haineko must wait. Haineko must be patient until the time is right for her Shinigami to visit her. She knows this. Surely, though, at this moment, the time is almost here. Her Shinigami has been training to awaken her. Almost, almost. Just a little more and Haineko won't have to wait, to hide anymore.
Finally, finally, she comes. The weather in the inner world is overcast, the clouds confusing the lines between willow and sky. Rangiku is looking confused, wary of every little rustle the breeze makes in the calm willows. She looks around her inner world, taking in the serene pond with the white water lilies, the cat-tail reeds by the pond, the ten silvery willows surrounding the pond. Haineko can see her wondering, 'Is this really my inner world? It's so... peaceful.' At last, the Shinigami looks into Haineko's tree and sees her, sees the grey tabby cat with fur so silvery she is blending in with the willows.
Haineko suddenly follows the instinct that is in every Zanpakuto spirit. She tries to tell her Shinigami what her name is, she screeches at the top of her lungs, "Shinigami! My name is --" But before Haineko can finish, her Shinigami disappears, vanishes without a trace. Haineko peers out from her inner world to the world that her Shingami lives in, and sees from the blue-grey eyes of her Shinigami, sees her thinking excitedly, "I've met my Zanpakuto!" The sun peers out from beneath the grey clouds, the sky turns blue, bluer than ever before, and Haineko is content to wait until next time. Next time, she thinks, next time I will tell her my name.
Yes, for now Haineko is satisfied with waiting.