I've been putting this off, for unknown reasons.
Sorry! Gomen! Scusa! Désolé! You get the point
"Get out," Jeb instructed, pointing towards the door. Iggy scowled in the direction of the man, folding his arms.
"Jeb, we aren't leaving until you give us an answer," He said flatly. Angel nodded at his side, frowning at the scientist.
The man scowled. "What do you want me to tell you? Max is dead, I can't say anymore on the matter, so will you leave or not?"
Iggy glared in Jeb's general direction, his mouth set in a firm line. "So you know nothing about contacting someone who's dead in your dreams?"
"No, I don't. Now please, leave," Jeb growled. He began herding the trio out of the room, before pausing with a sigh. "If I get some free time, I'll try to look into the matter for you. But I can't tell you anything if I don't know about the subject."
"Thank you, Jeb!" Angel said, smiling at the man. She turned on her heel, grabbing Iggy and Gazzy's hands and towing them out of the hotel room. Jeb shut the door as soon as the three were out of the way.
Iggy looked at Angel once they had left the hotel. "You had something to do with that, right?"
Angel nodded sadly, looking at the ground. "He's really sad about Max," She informed him. "He misses her as much as we do."
The Gasman sniffled slightly, and Angel's eyes watered. Iggy sighed, leading them to an alleyway. The three huddled together on the ground for a while. Iggy stared upwards as he rubbed the two children's backs, an attempt to soothe them. He hadn't really been required to do the comforting when Max was around, that was her job; even when she left, Fang was there as the main support for the kids. The Flock didn't cry that often, which resulted in Iggy's inexperience with helping them feel at ease.
Damn it, Max, He thought sadly as his cheeks began to feel damp, not just from his tears, but the small raindrops that were beginning to fall. Why'd you have to go and die on us?
My head snapped up, staring at the ceiling for a moment. What the…?
"Stay concentrated!" I glanced back around, in time to see a flash of white before being kicked to the ground. I growled, propping myself up on my elbows.
"You shouldn't attack someone when they aren't ready!" I snapped angrily; the midget just shrugged, walking closer to me.
"You should have been on alert. What was with the sudden daydreaming?" He asked, frowning at me.
"I thought I heard someone calling me," I replied, getting to my feet. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow at me, before turning away.
"That's enough training for today. You have class soon, don't you?" He called, retrieving his haori from one of the benches.
"You really don't know how to slack off, do you?" I asked, grabbing my small bag. We walked out of the training room together, and Hitsugaya glanced at me.
"I have Matsumoto for a lieutenant, I have no time to slack of," He replied. I rolled my eyes.
"That's a lousy excuse, you know."
The short-ass just shrugged, before turning. "Get to class, Brat," He called, disappearing a moment later.
My eye twitched. "That little…" I growled, shaking my head and continuing on towards the Zanjutsu Training Hall.
Nudge glanced at the boy next to her nervously. "Fang… Are you sure this was a good idea? The last time the Flock spilt up we were in pretty big trouble. I mean, can't you and Iggy just stop fighting? I mean, he just wanted to ask Jeb a question, right? Can't we just meet up with them once they're done?"
Fang glanced at the girl for a moment, before shaking his head. "If they talk to Jeb, then everything will become more complicated than it already is. You said so yourself."
"Yeah, but I don't like this, it's almost like…whenever the Flock is split things start to get worse for us."
Fang glanced down at Nudge again, before leading her into a shopping mall. "We should stay indoors until the rain is gone," He explained when she threw a questioning stare his way.
The two ducked into a small café, sitting in one of the secluded corners. Nudge ordered them both hot drinks before taking a seat opposite the dark haired boy.
"Fang…" She started, becoming thoroughly interested in the packets of sugar in front of her. "Do you miss Max? I do…"
Fang looked at the younger girl, before running a hand through his hair. "Let's work out were we should get to next," He said, returning to tapping away on his keyboard.
"Max…"
I breathed deeply, trying not to be distracted by the voice sounding in my head. As much as I love your company, I'm in the middle of something, if you haven't noticed.
"You have half an hour left," The calm voice of our instructor spoke up. I slowed my breathing even further, trying to block out the annoying voice.
"You don't understand, Max. Listen to me,"The Voice demanded calmly. I sighed heavily, focusing on it.
Fine, what is it?
…
Ukitake's eyes widened slightly, and he stood up suddenly, rushing from the Daireishokairō platform and outside. After his eyes had adjusted to the outside lights, he continued down the halls and out of Central 46.
"Ukitake, what's got you in a rush?" Asked a voice, the man turned to look at the shorter captain.
"Hitsugaya-taichou, I'm just going to see Max-chan. What about you?"
The child prodigy shrugged, frowning. "I have to check up with her today."
"So we're both going the same way, how nice," The man smiled. "Do you know where she is?"
Hitsugaya nodded slowly, jerking his chin in the direction of the academy. "She has Jinzen right now, apparently she hasn't contacted her zanpakutō spirit yet."
Ukitake raised his eyebrow as the two began walking towards the academy.
"Really? Has anyone in her class gained their zanpakutō yet?"
"Yes; a few, actually."
Everything was white. Absolutely everything.
My eyes were practically burning in their sockets, and I quickly shut them when I realised my surroundings.
"Max, open your eyes," The Voice commanded. My eyes snapped open. The Voice… it wasn't echoing in my ears anymore. It sounded clear, almost as if it was outside my head for once.
"Huh? What the hell?"
"Not exactly," The Voice continued, amused. "Open your eyes."
I slowly lifted my eyelids, adjusting to the white-ness of the...room? I'm not sure what it was. After a moment, I stood up, spinning around. All I was met with was... well, nothing, really. Nothing but white. Then, I spotted it. Seeming like it was miles away from me, a wisp of black smoke. I walked towards the dark spot on the plain background of this... place.
"What the...?" I asked, reaching my hand out. Instead of slipping through it, my hand fell against the smoke, laying there. I pulled back as the smoke expanded, reaching from the floor to over my head. I jumped back, watching the smoke take a figure.
"Max. Do you know what I am?" Asked the Voice as the smoke became a hooded figure, a little taller than me.
"The grim reaper?" I guessed with a shrug.
The figure moved slightly, a chuckle emitting from the shadowed hood.
—
"I'm terribly sorry, Ukitake-taichou, but you aren't permitted to enter right now. The class is ending soon, you'll have to wait until then," The man said, standing in Ukitake's way of the door.
"Oh, alright. Do you know if Maximum Ride is in this class?" The captain questioned. The man checked the schedule in his hands, before nodding.
"As a matter of fact, yes she is. I will inform her of your presence when class ends."
"Thank you," The elder man replied, the two bowed respectfully before Ukitake returned to Hitsugaya, who was standing against one of the far walls. "She should be out in a few minutes," The man reported. Hitsugaya nodded stiffly.
—-
"Peter Rabbit?"
"No."
"The witch from Hansel and Gretel?"
"No! Max, would you listen to me? I am not a character from a story," The figure said, exasperated.
"So, you're the voice the whitecoats gave me, yeah?"
"No. The whitecoats didn't implant me, or this place, into you when you were young."
I blinked, surprised. "Then how-?"
"I'm your zanpakutō."
I stumbled at that declaration, falling onto my ass, my jaw slack. "HUH?!"
"Wow! Max got a zanpakutō!"
"Seriously? Wow!"
"How's that possible? She's just a newbie, right?"
"If she's a newbie, what does that make you, idiot!" I opened my eyes as Minako whacked a boy over the head. Why were all these idiots crowding around me? I made to stand up, but the clattering of metal stopped me halfway.
Laying on the floor by my feet was a sleek, thin blade. It had a thick hilt… thing, wrapped in black and white fabric. The guy Minako smacked leant forward, extending his hand to the katana, but when he came in contact with it, he went flying away, hitting the room's door.
"What the hell?!"
"Stand back!"
"Go on, pick it up, Max!" Someone shouted.
I stared at it for a moment, before reaching down and picking it up. The zanpakutō was light an easily fit in my hand, like it was custom made for my palm.
"Class is dismissed," Our sensei proclaimed suddenly. The students hurriedly grabbed their things and exited the room quickly, a man stepped into the room, walking over to me.
"Ukitake-taichou and Hitsugaya-taichou are waiting for you outside."
I nodded, holding the sword awkwardly. What was I supposed to do with it?
As soon as the thought entered my mind, a sheath appeared in my free hand. I blinked, surprised, before placing the zanpakutō into it, carrying it out of the class.
"Ukitake, what're you doing here?" I asked the man, ignoring the midget for the moment.
The man smiled at me. "Well, I actually-, is that a zanpakutō?" He asked, pointing to my hand.
"Yeah," I replied, "Just got it, actually. What were you saying?" I asked.
Ukitake nodded, grinning. "I found something in the archives."
My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped. Seriously? I didn't think that we would actually come across anything.
"Gazzy! Look out!"
"Huh?!"
CRASH!
Iggy clenched his fists as another wall was demolished. He felt something near him, breathing by his neck slowly. It smelt like rotten carcasses and trash cans, making the boy grimace. "Gazzy! Get Angel and run! I'll catch up!"
"Right!"
The blind boy turned around, the full stench of the monster's breath hitting his face.
"You smell… delicious," A booming voice said, Iggy took a step backwards. "Almost as good as a shinigami!"
Iggy felt a large hand throw him to the ground, pinning him there. He struggled frantically for a moment, hearing the air whooshing as what he guessed was the other hand coming closer to his body.
He was done for, this was it. Iggy tried to look on the bright side, he could most likely join Max, after he died. The hand was probably about to kill him, when…
"Dance; Sode no Shirayuki!"
_
Muhaha! I have updated.
Sorry if this seems a little jumbled, I completed this in the middle of my English class – I'm such a rebel.
Anyway, I am SO SO SORRY about the long wait. I've been having more personal problems than usual, but I should be more frequent from now on.
Max has a zanpakutō! It's actually the Voice as well, but whatever. I haven't yet decided on what type it will be, but I shall soon!
SHE WILL BE GRADUATING THE ACADEMY SOON! Probably in the next chapter or two. Alright? What squad should she be in? Tell me!
TO THE LOVELY, PATIENT REVIWERS:
Vani Parfait: Taffy? Cool! Hehe! Yes, I'd love to have Max meet Shinji and Hiyori! Thank you for pointing that Central 46 dilemma. Thank you!
Fayfan: THANK YOU! *bows at the greatness that is fayfan's idea* Wah! Thank you! Thank you! Ahaha, do you realise how awesome your suggestions are?! Thank you, thank you!
MorganBanner: Max with a scythe is a pretty nice thought, and a wind-based one would most likely suit her very well. I see your point about the inner hollow, thank you! No grammatical mistakes? YAY! Thank you!
WingedHero540: That is a pretty awesome idea! Plus it has a backstory, not just her suddenly having one. I like it, thank you very much!
X-The-Final: I'm very flattered, thank you. I'll try not to keep the waiting much longer, Max should be out of the academy very soon, I promise.
NocturnalBeast: A very good point! And an excellent idea, thank you very much!
TwilightKat777: Yes, I think Iggy should get a girlfriend, as well. You read my mind on the voice/zanpakutō idea! Well done! Thank you for the review
NicoXChiku says Cata: Thank you! You are now my Nudge of the reviewers! Nice ideas, thank you very much! She will most likely be going to Hueco Mundo, so don't fret.
Fushigiarisu13: Thank you!
Alright, I'm off to school now. Later,
-Shinigami.