Author's Note: A quick shout-out to my readers, who are the best! I hope you're enjoying the chapters and thanks so much for all your support. :)
Ruri'iro Kujaku
My name is Ruri'iro Kujaku.
Not Fuji Kujaku.
Ruri'iro.
There is quite a difference between azure and wisteria. Azure is the deep, rich blue of a clear sky or the flawless surface of a pond. Wisteria is purple caught somewhere between lavender and violet. Both are marvelous colors, but only one is mine.
Azure. Ruri'iro.
And yet, Yumichika insists upon summoning my shikai as Fuji Kujaku. It's simply infuriating. You do not understand my plight? How would you like it if someone called you by the wrong name, whether you liked that substitute name or not? The fact is that it is not your name, and you would not respond to it as you do your actual title. He does it to irritate me. He does it because he is ashamed of my power.
Yumichika and his little division are so ridiculous. I am a very powerful Zanpakuto. I should not be stifled in such a manner. But since my shikai is kido and not a physical-style battle technique, Yumichika scorns me. He believes that his comrades will dub him a coward if he uses my full potential in battle. Which, in my honest opinion, does not make them good comrades to begin with. True cowardice, as I've told Yumichika so many times, is not embracing who you are.
He always gives me the same response. He looks away and mutters, "I know."
Yumichika is so ugly when he pities himself.
At least he doesn't call me something hideous, like Oribu or, heaven forbid, Beju. Ugh. I shudder just thinking about it.
But I don't think that Yumichika would do that to me. Or himself, really. I honestly don't think Yumichika could stand having an ugly sword, even if it is only the name. He is just as aesthetically involved as I am.
So I might as well give him props for that. And this little Arabian-style palace he's got me in isn't half bad either. It's quite elegant, tasteful, and glamorous; just how I like it. There are marble floors with murals on the walls, and great domed ceilings. The canopy bed is stuffed with the plushest feathers, and decorated with furs and silks and satins. Giant fans made of peacock feathers are everywhere, instead of tapestries.
I feel quite at home here.
And although all of this is true, I am still waiting for the day that Yumichika will get over his insecurities and beckon me with my real name: Ruri'iro Kujaku.