Author's Note: Alright, so I had to skip Kommomura's lieutenant, Tetsuzaemon Iba, because his Zanpakuto's name or abilities haven't been revealed yet. I honestly have no clue what to write. Therefore I will write nothing. But, once his Zanpakuto is introduced (the name, at the very least) I will dedicate a chapter to them.

And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I am still going to do Kenpachi's. Why his and not Iba's? Well, firstly we know Kenpachi's character well enough at this point to grasp what his interaction with his Zanpakuto would be, if he knew the name. That, and there's a story and a reason behind Kenpachi's ignorance.

Simply put, I have the words that need to be said for Kenpachi, but not for Iba.

Something like this might happen again, but as I said, once the Zanpakutos are introduced I will gladly fill in the gaps. Until then, you'll just have to make do.

Now that I'm done with this ridiculously long author's note, please enjoy. :)

Katen Kyokotsu

Twin blades, twin sisters. That is us. Katen Kyokotsu.

From the ground arises a city, an infrastructure of bone. We call it the Catacombs, for that is truly what it is: the ultimate burial ground. Hands and feet emptied of flesh form a delicate web of streets weaving through tall, intricate buildings of rib cages and spines, of femurs and fibula. Skulls top the lamp posts where the lanterns are supposed to go, but they produce no light. Kneecaps twist under our hands when we need to step through a door, and they are the gravel under our footsteps. Stooping at the tops of the buildings are the twisted skeletons of gargoyles, grinning down at us.

Everything is stark-white, bone-pale, bleached of color.

Except, of course, the sky. The sky is an extraordinary spectacle to behold, a flickering tie-dyed mess of hues. Shunsui compares it to the humans' aurora borealis, but it is so much more. It devours the entire heavens, leaving nothing untouched. It is as though the sky has absorbed all of the colors from our blank white city. We sometimes think that the sky will one day tear, and all of the colors will fall to the ground like rain.

We wonder where all of the bones for the Catacombs have come from. Shunsui cannot supply an adequate answer. He has no idea either. But he hates our city in all of its skeletal glory. He says it is ugly and crude, inhuman.

We are not human.

We wonder if he thinks that we are ugly and crude as well. We love our city, even if it is bleached white, even if the carcasses of others are the base for its construction. It is much nicer than that dull place he lives, Soul Society. And how long has he been there? Never changing, never moving, always the same lethargic, unmotivated Shunsui Kyoraku. He is as dull as the place where he resides.

But at least he is a worthy opponent for our games we play. How else are we to relieve our boredom? Even sisters as close as us get tired of each other. Shunsui has a clever mind, and he is indeed a game player at heart. He cannot help but leave little hints for us to keep us in the game, and we are the same way. In battle as well. For what fun is a battle without a little risk? What's the point if you are sure you're going to win?

Shunsui doesn't like to admit he sees it that way too. He says that he just doesn't like killing, and wants to give his opponents a chance to continue on with their lives even if he defeats them in battle. Doesn't he see that this "life" he's referring to is really a game? They are synonyms, to be replaced and switched with each other.

Life is a game, each day a new level.