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"I'll require two days to get things set up for your trip, so make use of that time and get to know your new… weapon."

Of course he would, Uryuu thought with a grimace, taking his place opposite Ichigo and Chad in the open arena that was Urahara's basement, appearances be damned. A slight wind fluttered the back of his battle cape out around his shoulders, and he couldn't seem to control the upward climb of his heartrate, beating solidly against his chest. He swore he felt each pump moving his body, and was surprised the other two hadn't said a word about it yet, but they seemed to be taking up their stances as well, if not with some form of hesitation, and he didn't blame them.

No arrows came with the weapon, and Urahara had waved them off with a smug, "You won't need them." With a scowl pulling his brows into more of a furrow, Uryuu glanced down at the sleek, bladed bow he held loosely in his right hand, wondering just how this weapon was going to work. He was no good at close range, and he had only ever fired normal bows and his Quincy bow, so how did Urahara expect him to deal with-

"You ready?" Chad called out, gripping Uryuu's attention.

When he looked up, he swore he saw a smirk on Ichigo's face as he leaned in close to Chad and whispered something that sounded like 'I feel like my dad right now,' before he reached back for his Zanpakto, which came readily un-swaddled from the ribbon of bandages as he drew it forward, pointing it at Uryuu. That same smirk was still ghosting over his lips, only furthering Uryuu's frown, but there was no further time for thought.

"INITIATION!"

The startling cry Ichigo gave startled Uryuu, and he almost missed the Shinigami kicking off the ground and rushing headlong toward him seconds before he disappeared from sight. Eyes wide, Uryuu's head flung from one direction to the next, trying to pinpoint where the boy would be attacking from, when he felt a sudden pulse from the hand gripping his new bow, and the sound of metal clashing against metal echoed in his ears seconds before realizing he had somehow turned, the top blade of his bow holding at bay the large sword Ichigo wielded.

Ichigo's surprise mirrored Uryuu's awe that his body had moved even without his consent, but the movement was so natural, so fluid-

"The hell?"

That was Ichigo's voice, but the sound was so far away, even though the boy was close enough Uryuu could almost smell his breath. Motions around him seemed to slow, and he still couldn't feel the true resistance of holding Ichigo's Zanpakto at bay with only one arm; it was almost as if he were just standing there, watching events play out in front of him. It was with that thought, Uryuu noticed among the apparent slowing of time, the world around him took on a darker tint to the edges, like that same black void from before was attempting to encroach on Urahara's basement, and suddenly he could see those ebony tendrils from his bow again. They had fully encased his hand and arm up to his elbow, where they disappeared beneath the skin, leaving the flesh above that point bubbling and shifting (It looked so painful, so… why didn't it actually hurt?) as he watched his arm slowly coil in on itself, before pushing forward, the blade of his bow clashing against the blade of Ichigo's Zanpakto and forcing Ichigo to retreat.

The slow motion was interesting, and despite the growing concern of things being somewhat out of his control at the moment, Uryuu couldn't help the growing wonder and awe as he watched Ichigo lean backward and kick off the ground, his body lifting into the air as he backtracked to try another attack. The pulse that flowed through Uryuu's body like an electrical current lifted the bladed bow to point at the airborne Shinigami, and in a fluid and practiced motion, Uryuu's left arm drew forth, like it was his Quincy bow he held so familiarly. His left fingers brushed the liquid metal that encased his right, lower arm, and the goo folded and shifted, dancing before his fingertips as he pulled straight back, his elbow high and even with his ear.

Without damaging the mass that coated his arm, a slender tendril of the black liquid followed his fingertips as they pulled away, forming into a thin, glinting bolt; its fletching a sleek, black as night feather that Uryuu just knew was sharp enough to slice through rock on its own. How he knew, he didn't know, but he knew. The shaft of the arrow formed fully after that; simple, and barely the width of his pinky, but the arrowhead seemed to form away from his fingers, even as it notched itself into place on his bow. Almost mechanical in appearance, there were five prongs (Reminiscent of his grandfather's Quincy cross? No… it couldn't be.) that drew from their deadly point upward into a curve, before jutting back into the shaft at yet another deadly angle, like the arrow had the ability to unhinge and open up to create as much damage as possible.

Now that he was thinking about it, this weapon truly was dangerous, but even his thought process seemed affected by the slow motion around him, and the thought was there and discarded as the arrow was pulled back to its fullest extension, his sights trained on the still hovering Ichigo, who's eyes had slowly been widening as he drifted backward. Uryuu felt his entire body pulse again, and that uneven, voice-feeling echoed through him, startling Uryuu to his core.

Die.

"NO!" the cry ripped itself from his throat even as he felt the deadly intent thrum through his blood, and it took every ounce of strength in his body to shift his arms somewhat to the right as his fingers loosed the arrow without his permission, the slow motion time effect giving way and returning Uryuu to the darkness-tinged-free world of Urahara's basement. Ichigo landed a good few yards away from Uryuu, his hair and hakama fluttering violently in the current whipped up by the arrow that flew past his cheek, embedding itself in one of the distant mountains before exploding viciously, the earth beneath their feet quaking as chunks of rock and debris scattered out around them.

All three heads jerked to stare at the wake of destruction; as the dust settled, even the path of the arrow had torn up the ground before it, creating a giant spiral that ripped through the earth on its way toward the huge mountain of rock… that no longer really existed. There were spiked edges on the outside of the arrow's path, but its center had been completely blown away. Completely eradicated. The sheer level of destruction was startling, and Uryuu lowered his bow arm, despite the strong pang of … battle…? as he forced himself to tear his gaze away, glancing down at his right arm.

He could no longer see the black tendrils encasing him, but he could feel them, shifting and moving without pain, but ever present and there. As he studied his arm, he felt his vision tinge with that same, dark aura as he watched the motions around him slow again, and the blackness encasing his arm became visible once more, pulsing more violently than before even as he tried to reason with… who? Himself? The weapon? … if he was honest, he really wasn't sure.

I can't use that kind of force against these guys; I don't want to kill them. They're my friends! Allies!

… allies?

The question hung in his mind, an echo to his conviction, even as he vehemently restated,

Allies. Friends.

The shift in himself was almost tangible, and Uryuu could all but feel the bow in his hand thrumming with thought as the corners of his own mouth lifted into an unbidden smirk, his heart pounding a tattoo against his chest as his stance widened slightly, his bow arm lowering slightly to hold the weapon more like a sword in front of him, pointed directly at Ichigo, who had just begun to turn back to face him, eyes wide and searching. The darkness at the edges of Uryuu's vision hadn't completely faded, but time was moving almost at full speed again, and Ichigo was waving his Zanpakto toward Uryuu and shouting some kind of flustered remark that he just couldn't quite catch. Instead, Uryuu was more focused on the sudden words that seemed to spill from his own lips, with a voice that was distinctly his, and yet… he'd not meant to say the words. Hadn't even thought them until…

"Parameters accepted. Two life forms recognized as friendly units. Commencing Sparring Mode."

Ichigo wore an expression not far from Uryuu's own emotions, full of a sudden caution and bewilderment, yet Uryuu couldn't help the hum of anticipation singing through his body, curling his muscles as his knees lowered slightly, and suddenly he was springing forth, toward Ichigo, closing the distance like it was second nature.

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After several long hours of training, Uryuu felt he finally had some understanding of his new weapon. His feet landed nimbly on the edge of a tall slab of rock, overlooking the grounds as his eyes scanned the area, waiting for physical movement or a change in the spiritual pressure in the air to indicate where the threat was coming from next. His grip had loosened on his bow just slightly, holding it sideways in front of him as he analyzed what he knew.

Urahara had been right; he hadn't needed any arrows for his weapon. It did somehow resemble his old Quincy bow, in that the arrows seemed to be made of his own spiritual pressure, mixed in with that black liquid that only he could see, attaching the bow to him. He could also feel the bow pulling in his own spiritual pressure, even as Uryuu pulled his energy from the Reishi around him, and the effect was an amplified strength that Uryuu never would have dreamed he would possess. His aim had taken a direct hit, having switched weapons like this, but he had to wonder if the bow was trying to aim itself as well, which might account for the inaccuracy.

He noticed the change in the air as soon as his right arm moved, the tip of his blade meeting Chad's fist, the wind of the motion blowing Uryuu's hair sloppily around his face, and for a moment, he let his body slip into the automatic reactions as he continued to think. Whatever that black goo was, it really did link him and this weapon, which seemed to have a consciousness all its own. How that was possible, he still wasn't quite sure, but he couldn't rule out the voice that was there and not at the same time, or that his body was able to move in such fluid and automatic ways without his input. Not to mention, of course, the darkness that attached the bow to him that neither Ichigo nor Chad had commented on, or even acted like they had noticed.

He had pushed Chad back even as he found himself watching his own motions like an outsider as his bow was pointed skyward, seconds before the clash of metal on metal surprised him, turning Uryuu's gaze skyward, where Ichigo had come from nowhere with a downward swing, trying to get the drop on him. Instead, Uryuu couldn't help but laugh quietly under his breath, unable to deny the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins as his legs bunched and released, and he jumped to meet Ichigo, the tip of his blade sliding along Ichigo's Zanpakto as Uryuu drew back another arrow, point blank.

He couldn't deny the satisfaction in Ichigo's widening eyes, and even though he curved his aim at the last minute, the two flying off in opposite directions, as Uryuu loosed the arrow he felt a strong sense of power, a complete turnaround from how he'd felt mere days before hand. It was almost as if he were back at full strength again, and that –

Uryuu gasped loudly as his feet hit the ground jarringly, collapsing beneath him. The flood of satisfaction and adrenaline was replaced with an overwhelming sense of being drained, and as his entire body crumpled into the ground, Uryuu realized with a start he'd depleted almost all his energy somehow. He hadn't even realized it was happening, and yet—

"Uryuu!"

He heard Ichigo and Chad, but their voices were distant, and he was too focused on the sudden convulsing of the tendrils encased in his arm, watching with trepidation as his flesh billowed out in shifting pockets, to the point he was truly afraid his arm would explode. He could feel his entire body burning with the iciness that swept through him, leaving him shaking and trembling in a heap on the ground, and he could numbly feel that there were hands around his body now, the other two trying to pick him up and help him onto his feet, but his body didn't want to respond. The darkness that had tinged his vision before seemed to grow and expand, and it was only a few seconds later that everything seemed to just… disappear. All he knew for sure was that he and the bow were still attached.

*~*~*~*~*~*~)-~-(~*~*~*~*~*~*

Uryuu felt like he had been standing in this darkness for hours, and yet he couldn't for the life of him figure out why. Why he was here, what this place even was… It took a while for his memories to piece themselves together, and when they finally did, he was spinning in place, trying desperately to see… well, anything, really. Yet all that remained around him was that same, crushing, yet familiar darkness. It seemed crazy to feel that anything to do with this new bow was familiar, and still, it was the only word he could honestly use to describe the pressure radiating around him.

"What… are you?" he found himself calling out, unsure if he would be answered.

There was no hesitation; no true voice that called out to him in that moment, yet the resounding answer was all the same.

I am your weapon.