AN: Omg hi, lols. machao here. Also the one who is Akechi Shioru! Hope you enjoy this chapter, and the rest of the fic and continue to read it! ^^ I must also apologise beforehand that my duels/fights don't really make sense. Sorry.
Chapter 13
It had already been nine months since the six girls first entered the shinigami academy. It is as they say, time flies by when you're having fun…well, at least it seemed like they were having fun…
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The class of thirteen was chatting as Meruvo-sensei, their maths teacher, entered the classroom. Nobody gave a damn about the man, so they continued talking.
"Good morning class," declared Meruvo. They were still talking, so they didn't listen to Meruvo. "There will be a maths test next week."
The class shut up.
"Nani!?" cried Tifa. "I don't wanna study!"
"Nooooo!" shouted Saiko. "That's not fair! Aren't we supposed to get two weeks notice on this?"
Meruvo shrugged. "Now, the topics of this test will include inequations, co-ordinate geometry…"
"So, I'm screwed…" said Shioru with a sigh that was touched with a hint of sadness.
"You're screwed," replied Hoshika who was smirking as she leant back in her chair.
"Don't you care about the test, Hoshi-hoshi?" asked Hiyori, with a concerned expression.
"Nah, am I supposed to? It's not like we need good academic marks to become a shinigami. Besides, most us are capable of thinking logically anyway—"
Hoshika was cut off by one of Mochi's shifty coughs. No one knew if she was actually coughing or faking it.
"Are you sure Hoshika? Look at Saiko," said Mochi unemotionally whilst reading one of her books.
Hoshika and Hiyori looked at Saiko, who was flailing about and cursing a bit because she was pissed off about the maths test. Meruvo silenced this when he yelled out, "URUSAI!" Miraculously, Saiko actually obeyed.
"We shall have a quick quiz. This will be revision for your exam. I'm sure this class will kick butt with the amazing marks you children achieve!" Meruvo was beaming, he must have been very proud of the class.
The class finally lowered their voices as Meruvo wrote up the first tedious question on the blackboard.
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School life for shinigami was quite the same as students in high schools. Mathematics, Science, English etc are all subjects in the Shinigami Academy. But it was zanjutsu, kidou, hakuda and shunpo that were the 'core subjects' as one would say in the real world. These 'subjects' are the most important, because they are used the most once the shinigami-in-training graduate. So obviously, someone professional teaches them.
Sanada Genichirou. No one liked him. He was an aggro, strict, mean, annoying, short-tempered, middle aged man. And he was the teacher of the six girls and their classmates. But nevertheless, he did try to teach the children and incorporate his years of experience into their training lessons.
"Class. We will be having a small test on the four combat techniques," stated Sanada.
"Nooooo! And we have a maths common too!" the class moaned and exchanged looks that were better suited to the doomed.
"YES, WHAT FUN!" another of their classmate, Toshiie, whooped in joy.
"You loser!" Saiko yelled back. She grabbed Hiyori's sloth pencil case and lobbed it at Toshiie's head.
"My pencil case!!" cried Hiyori. She got up and went to retrieve her pencil case, which was behind Toshiie's seat.
"QUIET! Ri, return to your seat!" shouted Sanada. He held a little more respect from the class than Meruvo did, but it still wasn't much.
"Sanada's giving us exams at this time of year. A bit early don't you think? It seems things are getting hurried along…" muttered Shioru.
"I guess you were right then, Shioru. Maybe they are going to graduate us sooner," whispered Mochi.
"Oh, so we're all gonna pass the tests anyway, we don't really need to try hard or practise for these tests," said Hoshika, overhearing the conversation.
"Well then, I'll just continue reading my book," said Mochi, and thus the conversation between the three calmer people of the group concluded.
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It was raining outside. Another day in the shinigami-in-trainings lives. But today, they had a zanjutsu test.
"Students, please pair up. Each pair will have a duel with the bokuto as I call out your names. This is a test on your techniques and ability to fight with a sword. I will call upon your pair to stop when I have finished marking," explained Sanada. "Any questions?"
"What happens to the one who doesn't have a partner?" asked Shioru. There were only thirteen in the class, so Shioru was curious.
"They can duel with me."
A couple of 'oh snap's and 'better get a partner fast' could be heard. Sanada sat down in a chair holding a pen and his mark book ready.
"I'll just do this alphabetically. Akechi Shioru. Who is your partner?" asked Sanada as he looked at the girl. Damn it, why does my last name have to start with an 'A'?
"It's Tifa Yuri," replied Shioru. She and Tifa rose from their seats and walked towards the bokuto stands. Tifa grabbed a bokuto, which she thought fitted her nicely. Shioru couldn't care less, so she pulled a random bokuto out, leaving the wooden sheath on the rack.
"Sensei, why don't we get to use our own swords? Some of us have already awakened our zanpakutou!" asked Tifa. You see, she was rather eager to try Hyosesu(1) on something.
"Might I like to remind you that your zanpakutou is metal, Yuri-san?" replied Sanada rather sarcastically. This was rather unusual, Sanada was never the type to make a joke or even say something sarcastically. Tifa hung her head in sorrow. The two took their positions facing each other. "I will stop the spar when I have marked both of you. Don't forget to bow."
Tifa bowed properly while Shioru flopped forward before standing back up straight. Bowing is so gay. She held the sword in her right hand and rested the wooden blade in her left.
"Let's go!" shouted Tifa. She whipped the sword out of the sheath and threw it backwards so that it wouldn't interfere with the battle.
"OWWW!" shouted Saiko. The sheath had made contact with her forehead, leaving a large red mark across her forehead. "Do you mind?"
Tifa laughed at the sight. "Ehehe, sorry…" she said nervously after she had stopped laughing.
Shioru shook her head at her partner. "Have some respect for school property." She glanced at Sanada. He didn't say anything at all about the incident. What's up with him?
"Three…two…one…" shouted Sanada.
"Here we go," muttered Shioru as they charged forward. The swords clashed and they struggled to force the other backwards. Tifa released the deadlock and slashed at Shioru. Shioru parried the attack, deflecting the sword aside so that she could slice at Tifa who was unprotected. Tifa, with her quick moves, stepped backwards and brought her sword back to block Shioru's swipe.
Their duel continued on for a while. Tifa was quick, but her techniques were not as good as Shioru, who had good accuracy, but was not as fast. Tifa stepped back as Shioru aimed a swipe at her feet. She then slashed upwards, but it did not hit Tifa. Shioru decided to step forward so that she could get closer to Tifa and feinted to the right. Tifa moved her blade to stop the attack, but realised it was a feint when Shioru moved to the left instead; grabbing Tifa's left hand with some kind of arm lock in the process. Tifa seemed to recognise what her partner was doing so she swiped at Shioru's back with her bokuto. Shioru blocked the attack just in time, by holding her sword behind her, conveniently deflecting Tifa's blade away from her. She gripped her bokuto tightly, twisted around while holding onto Tifa's arm and slashed down.
"MY ARM!!" shrieked Tifa as the wooden sword hit her somewhere between her elbow and shoulder.
"That's enough. Please return to your seats. Next…Kanda Mochi and your partner," said Sanada. His tone was the same; it had not changed.
"Be glad the sword was made out of wood," said Shioru as she replaced the bokuto into its sheath. Tifa had to retrieve her sheath from Saiko, which proved difficult.
"Did you have to hit so hard, Shioru? I think I'll get a bruise there…" complained Tifa.
Shioru shrugged a reply as she grabbed her water bottle and took a swig. Saiko stated, that if Tifa wanted to retrieve the sheath, it was required that she bow down and grovel before Saiko. Tifa refused because she had a greater sense of dignity than that. Fortunately for her, Saiko shoved it back into Tifa's hands because the duel between Mochi and Hiyori was about to start.
The two had abandoned their sheaths on the floor, bowed to each other properly and took their stance. Mochi held her bokuto with two hands in front of her, poised, ready to unleash an attack whenever they were ready.
"Three…two…one…Go!" shouted Sanada.
"You start," said Mochi, intending to give Hiyori a 'head start'.
"No…you start," replied Hiyori nervously. She was worried because she wasn't that great at zanjutsu and really didn't want to screw up in front of the class, especially since Sanada was actually marking this time. The two seemed to have ignored Sanada's 'three, two, one'.
"Start," said Mochi forcefully, emphasising the single word.
"No, no, why don't you just start?" continued Hiyori. If she started, where would she hit? Better off Mochi attack and she defend.
"GO!" yelled Sanada.
Mochi growled. If Hiyori didn't want a head start, then Mochi would just have to take the initiative. She tightened her grip on her bokuto and launched herself towards Hiyori. Mochi started the sparring with a sideways slash. Hiyori blocked the attack and swung her sword at Mochi in return. Sidestepping the attack, Mochi held her bokuto overhead and slashed downwards, a common and useful technique in kendo. Hiyori, having no time to jump away, brought her sword up to meet Mochi's. She held the bokuto in both hands, firmly clasping the hilt. Unfortunately, Mochi's sword was on top, pushing down on Hiyori's bokuto with more force, for the forces of gravity were on her side. Mochi ended up winning the mini sword wrestle. She had pushed Hiyori's sword away during the deadlock and taking the advantage, Mochi lifted her sword up, the tip of the wooden sword at Hiyori's neck.
"Thank you. Return to your seats," called out Sanada. "Kira Saiko and friend, up!" The way he said the sentence, there was a slight hint of annoyance. No doubt he was afraid of what would happen if Saiko and Hoshika were to fight each other.
"And friend…?" muttered Hoshika.
"Obviously you are not important," replied Saiko as she ripped a bokuto out of its sheath. She chucked the sheath onto the wooden floor, making a loud and hollow sound. She kicked it, and grinned insolently at Shioru.
"Have some respect for school property!" cried Shioru. Man, no one cared did they?
"True, but are you really the one to be saying that. You do destroy those kidou target boards quite often," commented Hoshika, holding her bokuto loosely to the right.
"Oh my god, I totally screwed up didn't I? What did I do wrong? Ahhh, I failed!!! Oh no!" ranted Hiyori. Was it just her, or did she and Mochi's duel end quicker than the others?
"Oh shut up, fail," replied Mochi.
"Don't call me fail! I―" Hiyori was cut off by Sanada's voice.
"Ready? Three...t―"
A deafening yell erupted, filling the training hall with the noise. Saiko, not caring about Sanada or bowing, charged forward, her sword held out behind her as she hollered.
"Damn the person who gave you vocal cords!" shouted Hoshika over the racket as she braced herself for Saiko's incoming attack. Their swords connected and Hoshika was driven backwards by Saiko's force. Saiko pushed herself off the clash and charged again, whacking whatever part of Hoshika she saw fit. All Hoshika could do was block Saiko's psychotic flurry of slashes. It wasn't an easy job. One attack landed on her arm and then another on her leg as Hoshika's guard seemed to have failed against Saiko's offence. With one last effort, Hoshika was able to block Saiko's next attack. She kicked Saiko in the stomach just as she blocked.
"Oww, not fair man, I thought this was supposed to be a zanjutsu test!" asked Saiko, gripping her stomach. What would happen to the remains of the ramen she had consumed?
"And I thought fighting consisted of both," replied Hoshika. Saiko seemed to have recovered from the attack very fast. She attacked her partner again, an overhead slash at Hoshika's head. Hoshika blocked the attack by ducking under the blade and lifted a hand to Saiko's hilt, stopping Saiko's downward motion. Quickly, and hopefully before Saiko could react, Hoshika moved her right hand away from the sword's hilt and it snaked towards Saiko's wrists. Hoshika gripped Saiko's wrists together; it would keep Saiko from attacking her with the dangerous wooden weapon. Hoshika smirked as she was about to slash at Saiko with the bokuto in her left hand. Finally, it's about time I actually win against Saiko.
"Tootsies!" said Saiko with an evil grin. She had stomped on Hoshika's foot. It looked painful, and Hoshika's facial expression showed everything. "Did you forget that I have feet?"
"Shit!" Hoshika swore, followed by a groan of pain. "I was so close!" Still, Hoshika managed to ignore the pain and moved to land another kick on Saiko. But just as she was about to lift her foot, she hesitated. Maybe I shouldn't kick so much. After all, it is a zanjutsu test. But her slight hesitation was all Saiko needed. She landed an attack on Hoshika. With an injured foot, Hoshika couldn't maintain her balance, so Saiko's swipe knocked her over. Saiko stretched out her hands above her as a sign that she had won.
"You will never win, because I am the ultimate!" blared Saiko, bending from the hip to shout in Hoshika's face. "I WIN!" She spun around and pointed at Sanada. "You better give me better marks than her!"
Sanada smiled. Maybe it was because the two misfits didn't create a riot during or after their duel. That was an achievement. "Put the swords back and sit back down. Maybe you should help Wakanao."
Saiko looked over to a limping Hoshika, slowly making her way to the bokuto stand. "Nah, she'll live."
"Can I get an ice pack?" Hoshika asked Sanada. Sanada looked the girl up and down before nodding.
"Go to the fourth division, they have better things than ice packs there," said Sanada. He eyed the other five girls of the friendship group. "Maybe you all want to go. You've all finished your duels, correct?"
"Yes," they answered in unison. Sanada waved a hand to dismiss them. The six girls filed out of the training hall towards the fourth division.
"Thanks, Sanada-sensei," said Shioru who was last to leave the hall. Sanada nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to the remainder of the class.
"Sashimoto Toshiie and partner, please come up," called out Sanada.
Yeah, he was happy. Maybe he finally realised the class did have the potential to graduate in one year and not get killed on their first mission. Well, hopefully.
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After a few moments of mindless walking, Tifa asked, an exasperated expression on her face, "Where is the fourth division?"
"This is all your fault, Hoshika! It's all because you wanted a freaking ice pack for your foot. We're lost now!" ranted Saiko, shoving Hoshika.
"Oi, how is this my fault? I think you were the one who stomped on my foot!" Hoshika shouted back in return.
"Shut up or I'll stomp on your other foot!"
They continued to walk aimlessly. In what direction were they supposed to go anyway?
"We should ask someone…" said Hiyori, looking around. Sadly, there didn't seem to be anyone around. And just at that point, a shinigami entered their surroundings. He, well, it looked like a he, was heading their direction.
"Hey, shinigami-san!" called out Shioru to the man. Slowly, the man turned around.
"Was that to me, or to the rest of the shinigami in Soul Society?" he asked.
"To you of course, do you see anyone else?" It was Mochi who replied, how very unusual. The next thing they knew was that the man had flash stepped over to them.
"Can I help you?" asked the man. He had a blue stripe and a 69 tattooed into his face. Not to mention three deep scars going down his right eye! With all the tattoos and scars on his face, he looked rather daunting. But Mochi was undaunted; her expression did not change.
"Do you know where the fourth division is?" she asked.
"Why yes, and I'm heading there too," he replied.
"Wow, what a coincidence!" speaking in an exaggerated tone, Tifa appeared to be implying that the man had some sort of ulterior intentions.
"Yes, such a coincidence. My captain got injured, he's there recuperating. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself to you trainees," he said, seeing their red shihakusho. "I'm Hisagi Shuuhei, lieutenant of the ninth division." He put his hands in his pockets, as if to dig out name cards with all his details on it. But sadly, they do not exist in Soul Society. "Let's go." The six girls trailed after the lieutenant towards fourth division.
"How did your captain get hurt?" asked Mochi. She was attempting to start conversation with Hisagi. It was very strange though, since Mochi wasn't the type to bother communicating unnecessarily.
"Somehow, he wounded himself on a sightseeing trip," said Hisagi, adding a slightly shifty cough after saying so.
"Oh, ok," replied Mochi. None of them realised how weird it was for the captain of the ninth division to go on a sightseeing trip. None of them knew who the hell Kaname Tousen was.
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The group returned home. Everyone was well, except for Hoshika who ended up with a bound foot instead on an ice pack. She was much less important to the rest of the patients, so no one in the fourth division was bothered to use their healing powers on the girl.
"That Hisagi guy was pretty cool," said Mochi. Another praise to the man, she sure seemed to like him.
"People who tattoo themselves have serious issues," commented Shioru. Yes, she was very against tattoos, it was unnatural.
"Don't you think they ruined his face?" asked Hiyori.
"No, he looks perfectly fine to me. On the other hand, your face is ruined by your stupidity Bakari," replied Mochi, jumping instantly to defend Hisagi from all those comments.
"Ahem, attention all, I believe that I must declare that Mochi Kanda likes tattoo face man dude!" Saiko stood up and spoke in what she may have hoped was an official and snooty voice. Mochi simply glared at them all.
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Shioru turned under her blanket.
"Hey, Shioru? Your Fi Fi's on the floor," Tifa called from the other side of their rather small, shared room. She was talking about the abandoned teddy bear on the cold wooden floor. There was no answer, so Tifa assumed Shioru had already fallen asleep.
But Shioru had not fallen asleep. Her eyes were wide open, staring straight at the wall. She had blacked out. Or was it her soul that was somewhere else?
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The sounds of flowing water and trees swaying in the wind reached Shioru's ears. She struggled to open her groggy eyes open. The first thing she saw was… well, trees. It was expected, considering what Shioru had heard. There were lots of trees, all different sizes and types. Most of them were tall pines lavished with lush green leaves. And in the background was a blank night sky. No moon and no stars sadly.
She sat up and looked around, her eyes no longer bleary. Despite it being nighttime, she could see everything, even the individual branches and leaves of tree. There was a slow flowing river to the right, cutting through a thick wall of trees. Shioru was sitting on soft grass and leaf litter was scattered on the ground.
What's this, some kind of clearing in the middle of a forest with a river? Well, it is pretty peaceful and quiet. No Saiko yelling, what joy.
Shioru stood up slowly and realised there was a light sprinkle of falling rain, but she hardly felt it. A sudden gentle wind blew through and Shioru turned around.
A large wolf, its fur ruffled with infinite shades of grey stepped out of the shadows of the dark forest. Its intense golden eyes locked with Shioru's own strikingly similar ones. A random image of the big bad wolf blowing down a house was suddenly conjured up in Shioru's mind, but she quickly pushed it away. No, this was a very different wolf; it looked intelligent and… vicious. Shioru shuffled back a little, attempting to get some distance between herself and the animal. Instinctively, her hand went for the zanpakutou strapped to the side of her waist. But there was nothing there. She had no weapon to defend herself with. The wolf kept its eyes locked with Shioru's. It stepped forward as she stepped back.
Oh my god, it's a wolf, oh my god, I'm going to die. Where the hell is my zanpakutou? Shit, shit, it's gonna freaking eat me. Look at those big teeth holy crap, shit!
That was all Shioru could think of as she tried to move back further. She glanced behind her. Her way was barred by the river. It didn't seem deep, maybe she could…
All her thoughts were cut short as the wolf launched itself towards her. Shioru opened her mouth and tried to let loose a silent scream. She was too stunned to do anything but crouch down and cover her head with her forearms. As if it would save her from the wolf. But nothing ever came. Slowly, she crawled out of her 'hiding place', which were her arms, and looked at the wolf. It stood tall and grand in front of her.
"You are indeed pathetic. I can't believe I'm partnered with you," growled the wolf. Shioru continued to stare at the wolf.
"You can talk," stated Shioru.
"I wonder what I'm doing right now?" asked the wolf sarcastically. "I'd rather you not state the obvious, kid."
It took all of Shioru's effort not to talk back. Important questions needed to be asked first.
"Are you a werewolf?"
"Despite the fact that I can talk, I do not transform into a human being at full moon. Did that disappoint you?"
"Oh, of course not. So…where am I?" asked Shioru. She had finally started to lose the feeling of being threatened by the wolf and felt a little at ease, just a little.
The wolf sighed at her question. "I would've thought you'd already know about the zanpakutou and how it works."
It was that one sentence which sparked a chain of thoughts in Shioru's mind. "Ah, you're my zanpakutou's true form, and you'll help me achieve my shikai and all that stuff and this world was created from my soul and you're a part of me, right?" said Shioru, all in one sentence. She was just relaying what the brain had come up with. The wolf smirked and nodded.
"All of that was correct. Except for the 'you're a part of me'. I am much more sophisticated than you. I am a god."
If a dramatic sound effect was supposed to enter at that time, it missed its cue. Shioru stared at the wolf as if it had just reeled off the biggest load of bullshit ever. "A god? Are you kidding me? Ahahaha, you're just a doggy!" The wolf's eyes seemed to flash with anger. It growled at Shioru, a sure sign that it was pissed. Suddenly, it charged Shioru and head butted her in the stomach, with far more force than one would expect such an animal to impart. The attack caught her off guard and the force made her skid across the ground. Shioru went flying head over heels into the river.
She'd been expecting the water to be icy cold as when she hit the water. But instead, the water was welcoming and she didn't feel cold at all. Shioru's head broke the surface. Droplets of water rolled off her face, her hair was dripping and her clothes were drenched.
"What the hell was that for you bastard dog?!" yelled Shioru, blazing with anger.
"Number one, no one,and I mean no one, are allowed to call me doggy or dog. I am a god, the great wolf god Ookami! I―"
"Ookami? Well, guess what, I don't believe you! Weren't you born from my soul?" asked Shioru. Gosh, this wolf was hallucinating and dreaming that he was a god. The wolf's head drooped a little.
"I was once a god."
"Ah, there we go!"
"Shut up, do not speak out of turn. I am just as grand as I was then. I was reincarnated to become your zanpakutou soul. And I do not lie; I was indeed a god when I was still the roaming the lands. Now I am locked here, as part of you…HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO ME?" The wolf's voice rose to a loud shout as it saw Shioru climb out of the river.
"Of course I have, I heard your creative little story and―" Before Shioru could say anymore, the wolf shoved her back into the river again.
"Do you want your zanpakutou? Do you want to wield me?" barked the wolf harshly, like a trainer.
"Yeah, I guess," said Shioru as if she couldn't care less. The wolf narrowed its eyes at Shioru.
"See the waterfall at the end of the river. Swim there, show me you are capable of learning my oh-so-godly name. Swim like you're going for the Beijing Olympic gold!" yelled the wolf.
"Hasn't that already passed?" asked Shioru, treading water. It didn't seem like the wolf would let her out anytime.
"What are you talking about?"
Shioru thought for a moment. "I don't know."
"How nice. Shut up and swim, kid," growled the wolf. Shioru looked at the river. The current was against her, but it was very gentle, Shioru believed she could get past it easily. She was a pretty good swimmer after all.
Shioru propelled herself into the water, towards the waterfall. She gained quite a bit of distance in the first few strokes. But as she swam farther up, the current got stronger and she had to fight against it. Each stroke got more and more difficult as she went. The wolf was pacing along the bank, watching Shioru struggle in the river. Shioru was gaining less and less distance each time she lifted her arm up and plunged it into the water. The current was getting stronger and stronger. And to make it worse, the wolf started mocking her.
"You are sooo slow. I guess I'll just have make myself walk slower to match your speed," said the wolf. It started to slowly stretch one of its forelegs in front of the other, pacing at snail pace. Still, it managed to overtake Shioru in the river. "You really are pathetic, kid." It shook its head at her making a show of how disappointed he was in her. "I'll meet you at the end."
"What if I drown?" spluttered Shioru who resorted to doggy paddling in the river.
"Well, I guess you die then. Logical isn't it?" Without another word, the wolf bounded off into the trees and disappeared.
Stupid, retarded, hallucinating wolf!
Shioru used up all her strength to try and move from her position. By doing that, she managed to stay in the same position in the river. But as her strength dwindled, the current swept her back. To the irritated Shioru, this current would be taking her back to the start. All her hard work would've been for nothing. She slapped the water, helpless against the current. "Damn wolf, damn river, damn current, why can't it change directions?" she yelled. As if answering her call, the current changed directions and it gently carried Shioru to her destination. How nice, it seems the river is doing by bidding. Dammit, I wasted my time trying to swim! She climbed out of the river, the water helping her up. Shioru walked through the waterfall, the gushing water crashed down on her, but it too felt like it was welcoming her to their realm. Her eyes immediately picked up a sword stuck in a pile of rocks. The blade of the sword was slightly wider than the hilt, which was wrapped in a navy blue, bandages. There was no cross guard, which was rather unusual. Shioru broke into a grin. Her zanpakutou waiting just for her. She wrapped her hand around the hilt. The stones turned into water and pooled on the ground as Shioru pulled the sword out. As she pulled it out, the sword glowed and transformed. It got longer, much longer. Something like double the length of the sword she had first laid her hands on. The blade thinned, its width now the same as the hilt that was covered in the same blue bandages. Down the middle of the blade was a blood channel. They let blood flow off the blade quicker so that it won't spray blood every time you swing it.
My zanpakutou, my shikai…
"Oh wow, you're finally here! And I was here…like what, five hours ago?" exaggerated the wolf. "So, what were we doing again? I see you got your sword."
"Short term memory loss…" muttered Shioru. But being a wolf, the wolf picked that up easily.
"I heard that."
"Well, you're supposed to tell me your name. Or was it Ookami?"
"Ookami was my name then. My name now is…bow down before me and ask for my godly name and I shall tell you."
Shioru looked at the wolf in a 'WTF' fashion. "Hey, why do I have to do this crap? Didn't you say you would tell me your name when I got here?"
"I never did," the wolf said simply. "And I'm not lying."
Shioru glared at the wolf before taking a moment to compose herself. "Oh great and godly wolf! Pray tell me, what is your name oh great wolf god!"
Oh…my…god…I cannot believe I just said that!
The wolf grinned its sly wolfy grin, its sharp, ivory teeth showing as it did so. "That's more like it. You should show me more respect kid. So, my name, huh? It's…"
Just when the wolf was about to say its name, a gale blew. It was so sudden and strong, it swept Shioru back through the waterfall and threw her into the river. She yelped, what kind of wind was this? Still gripping her long zanpakutou, she plunged into the darkness of the river and everything turned black as she was whisked out of her supposed, 'own world'.
The wolf sauntered to the riverbank and looked into the dark depths. The depth of the river changed depending on Shioru's amount of knowledge and connection with her zanpakutou's soul. The more she grew with the wolf, the deeper the river would grow.
"Karyuudo(2)," growled the wolf huskily, staring at its own reflection in the dark waters. Hopefully Shioru had heard that.
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Shioru's woke up from her dream. Weird, her eyes had been open for the duration of her encounter with the wolf…or should she say, Karyuudo? Her eyes felt dry and she blinked a couple of times to get a bit of moisture back.
Then she noticed the smell of her kasutera wafting towards her.
Oh, my sweet, lovely kasutera. Shioru took a deep breath through her noise. Her sense of smell had been heightened! And it seemed her hearing had been heightened too; she could hear Tifa's soft breathing when she couldn't before. How am I going to sleep now?
"Karyuudo," muttered Shioru, so as to not wake Tifa up. Unlike Tifa, she did not wake up the whole world upon obtaining her zanpakutou.
"'Sup kid?" asked Karyuudo.
"Why…with all these sudden changes…" Shioru ran her tongue along her teeth while thinking and she realised that even her teeth had changed. They were sharper! "My teeth too!"
"Our encounter made us similar. You have realised that our eyes are quite the same haven't you?"
"This is so weird! Am I gonna start growing a tail too?" answered Shioru in her thoughts.
"Oh yeah, totally," replied Karyuudo sarcastically, in response to Shioru's own sarcastic question.
Shioru pulled her blanket over her head and tried to sleep. No help, Tifa's breathing and the beautiful kasutera smell kept distracting her. "Screw this." Shioru tossed her blanket to the side and got up. I'm not going to get any sleep at this rate. Shioru made her way to the kitchen in darkness. Her ability to see in the dark had also increased, like how it had when she was in her own world. She grabbed her cup from the rack and reached for the water jug. As she was about to fill it up with the water, she felt her cup had gotten heavy already! Shioru looked at the contents inside her cup. There was water already, before she had poured, and the cup was hanging upside down when she had taken it. What…the… She drained the water and as she stared at the cup, she willed water to fill it again. Indeed, water filled the cup to the brim. Ah, how very interesting. It seems I have power over water now. No wonder there was a river and a waterfall in my dream.
With all those sudden changes, Shioru had forgotten to check on her new zanpakutou. It lay sheathed on her bedside drawer. It had transformed from the carbon copy, into the zanpakutou she had seen stuck in the pile of rocks in her dream. Shioru took hold of the hilt and slid the sword out of its new deep sea-blue sheath. The blade was shining silver as the moonlight coming through the window reflected against it. She shoved it back into its sheath and placed it on the table once again.
"Not going to practise with it?" asked Karyuudo.
"Nah, I'm not bothered."
Shioru grabbed a warm cloak and a bucket that was propped up against her wardrobe. Quietly, she walked across the floor to their storeroom and collected what she needed.
"Where are you going?" asked Karyuudo.
"I'll do some night fishing," said Shioru to Karyuudo, but as always, it sounded like she was talking to herself. Wait, wasn't Karyuudo herself too? She grabbed her trusty fishing rod, stepped into her shinigami sandals and left the rickety old house.
"I'll give you something to do that would be more fun," said Karyuudo.
"What?" replied Shioru via thought. It was weird having another voice in your mind.
"Go stalk the shadows…"(3)
"What…that's gay."
(1) Hyosesu is Tifa's zanpakutou.
(2)Karyuudo means Hunter.
(3) I know, weird eh? Well, it'll come up as to why I put that in the later chapters!
Shioru's zanpakutou in shikai form is very long, Sephiroth style. I hope you know what a blood channel is. But when the zanpakutou is in its sealed form, it is half the length and the blade's width widens a bit. And about my zanpakutou's true form being a god's reincarnation, I know it sounds absurd, doesn't make sense and doesn't flow with the Bleach concept…I just felt like it so that it could be a reason as to why the wolf is so arrogant. I'm sorry if I screwed up the zanpakutou concept, but this is a story so…yeah. ^^ I'm just weird, please don't blame me. Well, you can if you want.
Anyways, Read and review please. Any comments, especially on my zanpakutou, please do so! And the duels. They failed didn't they?