Author's Note: Duel Credit and AP are death I tell you. Updates been delayed slightly but TA DA here it is finally.

Disclaimer: No I don't own BLEACH, happy now?

Objective 7: Talk to the Pieces of Metal

Kiri managed to grab hold of a rung, almost dislocating her shoulder in the process. Shaking, she heaved herself up and fixed her grip, then shrieked, her voice going up several octaves. "YORUICHI! Get down here I am going to fucking kill you!"

"Impressive," Arrow chuckled to the naked woman above her. "You actually managed to get a naughty word out of her."

Yoruichi laughed loudly, the noise resonating down through the cavern below. Kiri made her way the rest of the way down the ladder and stood at the bottom, glaring up.

"Come here little kitty cat . . . I'd like to have a little talk with you . . . I love cats but I'm sure I can make an exception . . ." Kiri's eyes had narrowed into slits as she looked up into the darkness surrounding the ladder.

Fortunately Arrow was down the ladder before Yoruichi and grabbed her friend in a tight headlock. "You're clear!" She shouted to the were-cat.

Yoruichi quickly made her way down the ladder and landed softly before the two girls.

"See it wasn't that bad." She explained simply to the fuming girl caught in the taller girls lock.

"Go die." Kiri hissed, as she tried valiantly to break her friends hold but to no avail. Kiri felt Arrow's side vibrate as she chuckled.

"That was brilliant," Arrow complimented Yoruichi, paying no heed to the blonde girl at her side, "I must say that made my day, possibly my month."

"Why thank you," Yoruichi responded, bowing slightly in the act. Maybe the dark haired one wasn't so bad.

"Of course." Arrow stated. Looking down towards Kiri she shook her slightly, "You done being an ass?" Kiri grumbled but ended up nodding. With a tight tug Kiri felt herself being released and stepped back glaring at both women.

"You're not CUTE anymore." Kiri stated spitefully her voice full of menace. Turning on her heal she stomped off leaving the other two women to chuckle in amusement.

"Uh Yoruichi," Arrow said suddenly, the were cat lifted an eyebrow in acknowledgement; "Not to be repetitive but can you put some clothes on?" Yoruichi stifled a laugh.

"What is it with everyone and their hatred of naked women?"

Kiri shouted back, still walking away, "Just because we're girls doesn't mean we wish to see you strutting around without any clothes! Either get some or turn back into a damn cat!"

Yoruichi turned back to Arrow. "I'm going to go make sure Ichigo and Zangetsu haven't killed each other, or destroyed something important. Both of you try and get a feel for your swords while I'm gone." Arrow followed after Kiri, listening as the explosions and shouting from the other side of the room temporarily ceased.

Kiri and Arrow wandered over to the far side of the rocky training area, Kiri still fuming slightly. "Oh, get over yourself, It wasn't that bad." Arrow pointed out.

"She kicked me down a fucking ladder. That was NOT. COOL." Kiri sat down on a rock. "Now leave me alone. I'm going to go talk to a sharp bit of metal." She settled herself into the cross-legged position with her sword across her lap like she had seen Ichigo do before. In turn Arrow unsheathed her zanpakutou and made a few experimental passes with it. Closing her eyes, she sighed. Kiri really had no idea how this was supposed to work. Within a few minutes she grumbled and got up again.

"Is that position supposed to be comfortable I can't feel my legs! Tch." Finally she just lay flat on the ground and tried to clear her mind.

Kiri sighed and wiggled a little to get more comfortable. She had never really been good at this meditation thing, she tended to either get bored and stop or, more often, fall asleep. The blonde decided she'd just daydream a little and hopefully the sword spirit would do the rest.

She pondered the events that had occurred over the past couple days. Honestly, now that she thought about it, the possibility of not being able to go home didn't really bother her as much as she would've thought. She had been looking forward to going to college, but she didn't have many close friends other than Arrow and she had spent most of her teenage years wanting to get as far from her family as possible. Slowly, Kiri slipped into what felt simultaneously more real and more like a dream than anything she'd ever experienced before.

She was never fully aware of when exactly she entered her inner world. But what struck her most when she realized where she was how beautiful and eerie it all was. If she had been in the real world, she probably would have felt extremely unsafe. But knowing that this moonlit, snow-covered aspen and fir forest was a part of her suddenly made Kiri feel more at home than anywhere else. Looking around at the glittering white powder that lay over everything, the blond smiled. I wonder if I have a snow-and-ice type zanpakutou . . . that would be kind of cool. It suddenly occurred to her that she should be freezing. It was cold, certainly, but not overly so: the sort of pleasant cold of a crisp fall afternoon.

Kiri wandered through the snow. She had seen snow under a full moon once before, three feet of it, and had thought it was the most beautiful thing in existence. The whole place exuded a feeling of peace and mystery. The girl knew her sword spirit should be there somewhere, but she had no idea where to begin looking, or even if she needed to look. This inner world was nothing like Ichigo's gravity-confused city, where everything was visible. Here, instead, everything seemed to be hidden.

How long are you planning to wander pointlessly?

The blond whirled around and jumped at the pair of glittering eyes staring at her. Looking around the eyes, she wasn't surprised she had never noticed the sword spirit. The white tigress made no imprint in the snow as she walked toward Kiri, her silvery-white and black fur melding perfectly into the moonlight and shadows around her. In fact, the only things that seemed real about her were her gleaming silver-blue eyes and the sapphire and moonstone earring dangling from her left ear. Recovering, Kiri smiled. She loved all animals, but cats and especially tigers had always been her favorite. The feline sat elegantly in the snow in front of her and regarded her.

Not sure how to address her sword spirit, the blond simply said, "Hi." Having only seen one other inner world, Ichigo's, and since when he met Zangetsu he'd been in danger of losing his soul forever and there wasn't really time for introduction, she had no idea how to greet this beautiful creature for the first time. Kiri winced at how informal she sounded. She'd always been terrible at introductions.

Hi? That's it?

The blond suddenly realized that the tigress wasn't actually talking, she could just hear her voice inside her head. It was deep and rich, although it currently also sounded a bit annoyed and sarcastic. Kiri scowled.

"Well, what am I supposed to say? 'Please, oh mighty sword spirit, consent to be my weapon'? I wasn't under the impression that either of us really have a choice in this."

The great cat licked a paw. 'There's no need to be so snippety. I was merely implying that you are rather overly informal, considering we have only just met.'

Deciding she really didn't feel like opening hostilities this earlier, considering she could be stuck with this creature for a very long time, the blond took a deep calming breath and crouched in the snow across from the tigress. Extending her hand, she said, "Okay, let's try this again. I really am happy to meet you, and I hope we really will get along."

The cat stared at her as though she had never seen anything quite like her. Then, ever so slightly, the icy eyes softened as the gleaming paw settled heavily into Kiri's hand. I'll try to put up with you.

Arrow watched as Kiri spread out on the ground and figured she might as well follow suit. Slipping a ways away from Kiri she sat on the ground cross legged and pulled her zanpakutous out. Laying the swords out before her she released a large breath and watched as the blades gleamed beneath the light of the cavern.
It was strange she mused, they had only been in this world for a short while but she felt no fear. Of course she had pondered the possibilities that she would never return home, or that she had purely lost her mind and was making all of this stuff up. Whichever way it was she oddly felt a level of importance that she hadn't felt in a long time. Besides it wasn't like she had much to return home too.

She didn't have any family, having grown up an orphan, she had never known her birth parents. She grew up alone and came off as strange causing most people to keep their distance and in turn she did the same. It was a mutual understanding. As Arrow's mind drifted she soon found herself in a desolate wood with no living trees and everything was shrouded in dark shadows making it hard to decipher various shapes.

She lifted a quizzical eyebrow as she watched the woman suddenly materialize before her. She easily stood six feet in height and was flawlessly shaped. Her eyes were a deep onyx with specks of purple set in a long tapered face. Her hair fell in long silken strands of black down her bare toned back.

"So you are my zanpakutou." Arrow stated more than questioned noting striking appearance of the being before her. The woman nodded her head curtly as she trailed across the beaten path beneath her bare feet, her tattered dress billowing around her.
"I am," her voice was oddly soft as she closed the distance between herself and Arrow. "You are Arilyn." The woman smiled as the name slipped past her lips. Arrow nodded curtly in response.

"I have peered into the deepest parts of your soul," the woman said simply as she reach out a hand and trailed it along Arrow's shoulder, "Your soul is far deeper than many I have come into contact with, however you carry cowardice with you." Arrow's eyes widened marginally before they quickly returned to their original frame.
Arrow's eyes suddenly hardening towards the beautiful woman.
"You are strong willed and unbreakable, but your kindness will be your downfall," the woman said, almost as though she were speaking to an unknowing child, "such chivalry with such potential such a waste. Very well." She walked away leaving Arrow standing oddly strait. "Let's begin."

Before Arrow could react the woman's appearance had altered as she pounced. Pinning Arrow to the ground was an enormous wolf whose teeth were bared. Not knowing how to move Arrow, running entirely on instinct rolled to the left barely avoiding a claw in the eye.

"You're fast," the wolf cooed darkly as it began circling around Arrow, "But tell me child how long can you last?"

Slipping into a kneeling position Arrow brandished her sword and balanced her weight, watching as the wolf slowly closed the distance between them.
"You have a warriors soul," the wolf explained calmly her cycle never ending as she trailed around the girl, "You want to protect those around you, even at the own cost of your very life. Tell me would you die for someone you know nothing of?"

"Yes." Arrow responded instinctively as she watched the enormous wolf watch her. The wolf almost grinned as she began racing towards Arrow. As she prepared to counter the attack the wolf burst into light as it came upon Arrow.

Shading her eyes, Arrow allowed for the light to pass only taking in the sight of a young blonde girl watching her with curious gold eyes.

"Nikusu has a bad temper," The girl chirped happily, "I'm Artemisu, it's pleasure to meet you!" Arrow felt her blade slip from her hands, what had just happened? The girl stood up and smiled pleasantly as she reach out and grabbed Arrow's hand in both of hers.

"We are going to be best friends." Artimisu's smile was genuine as she let Arrow's hand slip from her own and put her arms around her neck. "You're not alone anymore, 'kay?" She suddenly let go and skipped away laughing, her laugh like tinkering bells.

The world before Arrow suddenly began to spin out of focus and she was back in her body her entire body on edge as thoughts raced at impossible speeds through her mind.

Kiri opened her eyes, feeling very peaceful. Blinking in the bright light, she looked over at Arrow, who was sitting on the ground watching her swords with careful eyes.

"No luck?" Kiri asked as the other girl who looked up in response.

"No, I met them." Arrow's eyes were oddly unfocused as she watched the pieces of metal before her. "You?"

"Actually yeah I did," Kiri pushed a loose strand of hair from her face, "She's very elegant and pretty." Arrow snorted suddenly sounding like herself again.

"How touching, so what do we do now?" she asked as she pulled herself into a standing position, her swords once more clasp to her waist.

"Leave that up to me." They heard a light voice cut in startling both of the girls. Turning they took in the newly dressed sight of Yoruichi a bright grin on her face.

"I see you've spoken to your zanpakutous," She crossed her arms, "Now the real training begins. Up." Arrow looked quizzically at Kiri before jumping onto her feet quickly followed by the blonde.

"Draw your blades," Yoruichi instructed as she walked past the two, "You've a long ways to go if you want to assist in the rescue of Rukia Kuchiki." Complying with the were cats demands both girls carefully drew their blades and watched as Yoruichi looked over her shoulder a devilish smile on her face.

"I don't know your story," She stated simply cracking her neck, "But I can guarantee you have never felt hell like this." Before either girl could respond Yoruichi sent out a kick which Arrow barely blocked.

"Think fast!" Pivoting on her heel she shot out a punch towards Kiri who threw herself on the ground to avoid the strike.

"AUGH! Yoruichi!" Kiri yelled. "Couldn't we start out with some basic stuff first? I mean, Arrow's had martial arts training, but the extent of mine is two days of martial arts at summer camp and a semester of stage fighting in my 8th grade drama class! I quit martial arts at camp because the punching bags were hurting me more than I was hurting them!"

Arrow and Yoruichi both stared at the blond, incredulous at how utterly pathetic she was. "You're kidding me . . ." the were cat muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. "What does the Spirit King think he's doing, sending you to do this? You're hopeless! Possibly you a bit more than Arrow," she added to Kiri.

The blond leapt up. "I'm sorry I'm not a hero! You want a hero, go watch Ichigo some more. I'm not anything like Ichigo. I don't want to be here, I suck at fighting and physical activity in general, and I have a terrible work ethic! And if you're not going to take my utter helplessness into account in your training, I'll go figure it out myself! At least my sword spirit was nice to me!" Kiri's voice went hoarse. Taking several deep breaths, she walked off to a far corner of the underground cavern.

Arrow watched as the blondes back began to get smaller as she walked away.

"She really doesn't want to be here does she?" Yoruichi stated more so than questioned as she watched the girl walk away. Arrow sighed.

"Kiri has her moments," she murmured running a hand through her hair, "She's never been very receptive to being thrown into stuff randomly, and I mean even I'm slightly shaken up from all of this." Arrow glanced around her, "It's a lot you know."

Yoruichi's eyes surprisingly softened, "Maybe you should speak to her." Arrow nodded in response.

"However," Yoruichi said, "time is limited and you've got to be ready or you'll only be in the way." Arrow waved her hand dismissively.

"I'm well aware of that notion," Arrow turned slightly and smiled at Yoruichi, "We'll be there, I promise." She saluted to the old captain as she took after the blonde who had disappeared.

As soon as Arrow was out of ear shot Yoruichi responded, "I hope so, if what Kisuke says is true we're going to need you."

Kiri sighed as she sat on a rock. She knew she shouldn't have shouted, and she honestly didn't mind being here as much as she made it sound like. But the were cat really was being unreasonable. Why did Yoruichi only seem to pick on her? She had always liked Yoruichi in the series, so it was a bit of a surprise. Although, she thought to herself, in the series, Yoruichi only ever had to train people who were naturals, like Ichigo, Chad, and Orihime. Maybe she just doesn't know how to deal with someone who'd rather be lying in bed watching anime than practicing punches and kicks.

Settling into a more comfortable position, Kiri decided to see if she could talk to her sword spirit again. Besides, her inner world seemed to have become her literal "happy place," and she really needed to go there right now.

Not noticing Arrow walking up to her, the blond slipped easily into the moonlit forest. It wasn't as calm this time: a chilly breeze swept through the branches and a few clouds briefly obscured the moon. Taking a breath, Kiri calmed herself as she had done so many times before to keep herself from attacking people.

As the air cleared and the breeze melted away, the deep musical voice sounded behind her again. You are awfully good at calming yourself. That will be helpful when wielding me.

Smiling finally, Kiri faced the tigress. She was rather formal and a little arrogant, but the girl couldn't help but feel reassured at her words. "Thanks. I'll be fine. I just need someone to teach me who won't be impatient because I don't already know anything."

There was a smile in the cat's voice as she replied warmly, What do you think I'm here for? A sword spirit is not just a way to make a weapon stronger.

Raising an eyebrow, the blond said, "That's very kind of you, but I'm not sure how a tigress, as capable as I am sure you are, will be able to teach me, a human, martial arts. Something about the difference in body shape might pose a challenge."

All in time, the tigress simply stated, but for now you should probably talk to your friend her concern is admirable. Kiri surprised at the motion immediately slipped from her world and opened her eyes to meet the steady green ones of her friend.

"You okay?" Arrow questioned as she plopped down next to Kiri, her shoulders slumping forward causing her elbows sit idly on her knees, "You're obviously pissed." At this Kiri bristled slightly.

"I'm fine it's just ridiculous," Kiri growled throwing her hands up in the air, "I mean sure it's we get to be in our favorite anime but my god we can't do this! Who do they think we are?" Her voice had grown in volume as she had ranted on leaving her voice echoing about her on the final note.

Arrow sighed before shaking her head and leaning against her friend lightly. "Hey we've been through worse," Arrow mindlessly twirled a strand of her hair around her finger tip her eyes unfocused, "We may not be the best or the strongest but we've got one thing they don't."

Kiri snorted in disdain, "And what is that, idiocy? A manga book? Fuzzy toe socks?"

"Persistence," Arrow stated simply and she bumped shoulders with the young girl, "We will conquer this and we will save Gin." Arrow smirked as she stood up and turned towards the blonde girl and offered her hand out towards Kiri.

"And we'll look badass doing it." Kiri looked at Arrow's hand for a moment before reaching out and grabbing it, allowing the dark haired girl to pull her up and out of her ravine of self pity.

Author's Note: This chapter was ungodly long *dies*

Please review! Reviews are gold to fan fiction writers with no lives! *waves innocently*