Character Profile: Zann

Zann is a male Adjucha and co-deputy of the Hollow army alongside Tull-Gray. His Hollow mask resembles the face of a horse and has black stripes on the cheeks and forehead. His body is mostly white but has black hands and feet and a stripe going down his back, ending at the tip of his tail. He has a cold and indifferent demeanor but is shown to also have a level of mercy, seeing as he didn't eat Thorn when the latter proved to be useless to Quarrha's army.
Zann possesses incredible strength and Hakuda skills, excelling in close combat. He is also very fast, despite being the youngest Adjucha in Quarrha's army. His skills and intelligence make him one of Quarrha's favorite subordinates.

Future Zanpakuto: Cebra; Spanish for zebra

Yui walked back into the training room to see her apprentice still meditating. It had been three hours already, and Yui guessed that Shina's zanpakuto was giving its master a hard time. Learning the name of one's zanpakuto did take a long time, being one of the most important things for a Shinigami to know. Even so, meditation should take the Shinigami to his or her inner world, where they could communicate with their zanpakuto directly.

Master? Tsuin Ryuu no Tatsumaki voice echoed in Yui's mind, making the latter smile softly.

Yes, Tsuin? Yui's zanpakuto's name was so long that the redhead just decided to call her sword Tsuin, not that the zanpakuto minded.

The wind in your inner world is getting a little chaotic. What's bothering you? Tsuin prodded gently.

Nothing too bad. Just hoping that I can get Shina's Shikai training over with before that Tull-Gray returns.

That Adjucha is nothing to worry about, Yui-sama. We are strong enough to beat him, especially since we're now prepared.

Tull-Gray's reiatsu was close to that of a Vasto Lorde, Yui argued, Next time we see him, he might as well be one, and we won't be able to take him on alone then.

In that case, we should train together more. Tull-Gray specifically said that he will be coming after you.

I will train after I get Shina to achieve Shikai, Yui promised.

I will hold you to that promise, Yui-sama.

"Shishou?"

Yui broke off her conversation with Tsuin Ryuu no Tatsumaki to see that Shina was no longer meditating. There was a pleased look on the brown-haired girl's face.

"You learned your zanpakuto's name?" Yui guessed.

"Yes!" Shina cried, looking very pleased with herself.

Yui grinned. "Good. Release your zanpakuto."

Shina stood up and unsheathed her katana. Holding it out parallel to the ground with the tip pointing to the opposite wall, she shouted, "Evaporate, Aokiri*!"

The blade of her sword immediately began to glow blue. Then, it began to disintegrate, starting from the tip and working to the tsuba. Once it completely broke apart, it hung in midair, looking very much like mist, except it was blue.

"Not bad," Yui praised, observing Aokiri's release, "I will give you three days to practice by yourself so you can figure out how Aokiri works. After those three days, you and I will be sparring together."

"Yes, Shishou!" Shina bowed, "Thank you very much."

"Hiyori, get off me!" Shinji yelled, struggling to get the Twelfth Division's lieutenant off him. Sarugaki Hiyori responded by yanking on the man's ear, forcing another loud yelp of pain from the blonde.

"Shut up, Baldy!" Hiyori screeched, "It's your fault for not saying hi to me when I came in!"

Shinji managed to grab hold of one of Hiyori's pigtails, giving it a hard tug. "You came to talk to the captain, not me. I don't have to greet you!"

The little girl began to pull on Shinji's cheeks. Hard. "Shut up! If I say you have to greet me, you greet me! Understand?"

"No, I don...OW!" Shinji screamed as Hiyori punched him on the top of his head.

Kotsubari merely watched the two with amusement in her eyes. Being a member of the original Gotei 13, she had seen many Shinigami pairs who act like Hiyori and Shinji: violent towards each other, but best friends nevertheless. She refocused her attention on the small stack of paperwork that was on her desk. Sliding the top sheet closer, she picked up her brush and began to fill it out, pausing occasionally to make sure that neither lieutenant was getting killed by the other.

Suddenly, the door to her office opened and Kyouraku Shunsui poked his head inside. "My, my. It's really loud in here. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked.

"Shut up!" Hiyori shouted, jumping off Shinji to punch the Eighth Division's captain in the face.

"Ow!" Shunsui cried pitifully, pretending to be in a lot of pain and holding his bruised cheek, "What was that for, Hiyori-san?"

"Because I felt like it!" Hiyori snapped.

Kotsubari stood up. "Sarugaki-fukutaicho, please apologize to Kyouraku-san. I can understand you wanting to hurt Shinji since he's a blockhead..."

"Hey!"

"...but Kyouraku-san has done nothing offensive to you," Kotsubari finished, ignoring Shinji's protest.

Hiyori debated with herself for a bit, her respect for the old captain versus her pride. Finally, she shrugged angrily and muttered, "Sorry."

Kotsubari smiled wearily before turning to Shunsui as Hiyori and Shinji continued their fight. "My apologies, Kyouraku-san. How may I help you?"

Kyouraku grinned. "I heard Yui-chan and Shina-chan are currently training somewhere. Do you know when they'll be back?"

Kotsubari shook her head. "Not for certain, but the latest is a two weeks."

"Well, could you give this to Yui-chan when she returns?" Shunsui held out a folded slip of paper. Kotsubari took it.

"Is it private?" she questioned. The Eighth's captain chuckled.

"No, actually," he replied, rubbing the back of his head, "Sorry to trouble you, but Ukitake and I intend to train together in preparation for the possible upcoming war. The note tells her where we will be if she can't find us."

Kotsubari nodded. "I will make sure to give it to her when she returns. Good luck with your training, Kyouraku-san, and please pass my greetings to Ukitake-san as well."

"Of course." Shunsui tilted his sakkat to the elder captain before leaving. Still ignoring Shinji and Hiyori, Kotsubari retreated to the window where she raised her head to watch the clouds floating by.

It's been a long time since Seireitei faced such a large threat. Kotsubari fingered the tsuba of her zanpakuto, which was tied at her waist. The sky is growing dark, Kaminari Suzume.

"That bastard Quarrha is so stuck-up!" A red, female Adjucha groaned as she left the meeting room with another green, female Adjucha and the blue Adjucha, Sharktooth.

"All beautiful birds are arrogant, Sparkfire." The other female said. Sharktooth, however, chose not to say anything and left the other two to head for his room. Neither female acknowledged his departure.

Sparkfire made an impatient noise. "I want to kill something. I want to wreck havoc in the World of the Living or destroy some Shinigami, but Quarrha says no! Why can't I do what I want?"

"Because it will put the Shinigami on guard," the other answered snootily.

"Shut up, Venomleaf!" Sparkfire shouted. She started pacing up and down in front Venomleaf, muttering, "Why am I obeying Quarrha anyway? That son of a bitch doesn't deserve my loyalty. Screw him; I'm going to the World of the Living."

"You do know that Quarrha-sama will most likely kill you when you return," Venomleaf pointed out without concern.

"I don't give two shits about what he will do," Sparkfire snapped before stalking away, leaving Venomleaf alone. The red Adjucha stomped to her room and threw open the door with a loud bang. The three Adjuchas that were inside looked up at the noise.

"Follow me," Sparkfire ordered her subordinates. They cast excited looks to each other before scuttling after their boss.

"Where are we going, m'lady?" One of them asked respectfully.

"The World of the Living," Sparkfire answered as she opened up a Garganta. She stepped through, quickly followed by her subordinates. As the Garganta closed behind them, the four began to run into the never-ending black void. After a long time of sprinting, an opening finally appeared in front of them. Sparkfire jumped out first, appearing in the sky above a large, busy town. As the other three appeared beside her, she gave a low snicker in the back of her throat.

"Karakura Town."

Aokiri means Blue Mist.