I know it's been a while. Believe me, I know.
I hit a rough patch. The end of school always has me 'mourning', as my mom puts it, and I was extremely stressed out over my finals. After they were done, I had a complete nervous breakdown. It didn't help that I hadn't taken my anti-depressants for two days. It took me a while to recover from that. Also, a friend of my sister's recently died. She was thirteen.
This might seem a little rough, but I wanted to get it out before I left for our annual Fourth of July camping trip. Right after I get back, I'll be starting a summer job at my city's police horse farm (you know, where they keep the giganto horses police officers ride).
Have no fear, though! One of my problems was that I wasn't exactly sure where I was going. But while I was moping around the house, I wrote a big ol' outline of this story. *sniffle* I'm so proud of myself for actually planning something out for once!
Anyway, here's your story!
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warmthwarmthwarmth
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Akito doesn't like kidou.
Well, no, that isn't what he really means. He doesn't like the way shinigami use kidou. It is all structured, named and numbered, closed in and limited by its exactness. There is no complexity, no art to it.
Kukaku-san had taught him the hadou and bakudo, how to chain spells and adjust their power. But she had also taught him the history behind them, the fundamentals of kidou that are now overlooked in favor of convenience, rather than understanding.
Kidou is about intention. Someone can't just call the name of the spell - you have to really know in your mind what you want it to do, and you have to command the power to take the shape you want. Chants and incantations are just to provide a cookie-cutter form for that power.
Healing kidou is the closest thing to that raw form of kidou. But even that is structured, confined to a certain form.
Akito wants to create art.
Glowing silver threads slide through his nimble fingers as he weaves them together in midair. They aren't just strands of light - they are protection in its rawest form, trapped in one shape to form another. It takes all of his Villen, his will, as she puts it, to keep it contained like this, to keep it pure like this. He has tried this hundreds of times before, but it has never been completed.
Once again, the intricate pattern of knots and overlapping strands begins to dissolve together, melting into his skin. He can't keep it separate from him while concentrating on weaving.
The glow fades, leaving the empty training grounds almost pitch-black. Akito sighs, dropping to the ground and sitting with his legs slightly bent in front of him, arms loosely around his knees. There is no moon in the sky, leaving the stars to fill the sky with little dots of brilliance.
"Müde? (1)"
He looks up, over his shoulder, to see her, standing there in that white robe like some kind of ghost. She prefers to speak in German. There is something about that language that calls to him, something about the harshness of it. But he is more comfortable with the familiar Japanese, and she doesn't object when he replies, "No."
"Then why not continue?"
He thinks for a moment, staying silent. "I'm not sure," he says to her. "I suppose I wanted a bit of that feeling I had when it was just the three of us. The calm before the storm."
She smiles at him, and steps up beside him, though she doesn't sit next to him in the wet grass. She doesn't reply, leaning back her head so that the hold fell off her head and her white-blonde hair spilled out. Her pale eyes stared straight up at the constellations. He followed her lead, stretching out his arms behind him to hold him up as he leans back.
He isn't sure how long they stay like that, quiet, eyes wandering the stars. It's long enough to see the sky turn, long enough for a clear sky to be covered with clouds.
"There is someone there," she says, and when he looks at her, she vanishes, her form melting into smoke which curls up and quickly fades away.
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"Tenshiyari."
The German zanpaku-tou girl felt that unfamiliar and unwelcome tug on her being, coaxing her away from her serene world and. Reluctantly, she allowed herself to enter the Dochitsukazu (2), the world of the zanpaku-tou.
She didn't like the others. They were so much older than her, and so different in nature. They were wielded by those who had slaughtered her people, regardless of how justified they thought they were in doing so. She belonged in a different kind of world.
Besides, most of them were rather annoying. They behaved as if she were beneath them, simply because of who her wielders were. And while it was true she was an anomaly, created purely by chance and something that didn't really belong anywhere, her people were the truly superior beings.
No hollow could even think of becoming a Vasto Lorde without consuming a Quincy. There were other factors too, of course, but that was one that she could be morbidly proud of. Quincy were something special, something that the shinigami had go right to control. Only the burdens of their souls prevented her people from...
But she couldn't think of that. Not while that abomination still reigned. She had to be content with her makeshift existence, unable to rid herself of this shinigami's form.
"I have told you, I will not be referred to by that falsehood of a name."
She glared at the white-colored kitsune (3) spirit. Sode no Shirayuki was one of the few that associated with her, continually dragging her into the Dochitsukazu, this smoky, indistinct world. At least the female was bearable - most of the time.
Her silvery eyes narrowed. "Fine, Engel Lanze. Be that way." The kitsune was practically pouting now. "But you do yourself no favors by reminding others just how different you are."
"I am well aware of that," Engel snapped, having little patience for the regard of her supposed peers. Inwardly, underneath layers of icy composure, she seethed. She hated this form that she had been subjugated to.
She let out a breath. Shirayuki was right - it did her no good to antagonize these spirits, not now. Still, she preferred her true name, from her native language. Her eyes closed, and in a calmer voice, she asked, "What did you want with me?"
"I was just curious," the kitsune said, one hand bent in front of her mouth like a paw. "It's been centuries since you were called out by a wielder. How is it, to be out in the world again?"
Engel sighed. While this could be a mundane conversation to satisfy her curiosity, somehow Engel doubted it. Her pale lips pressed together in a thin line, the corners of her mouth tight. Shirayuki had always been unusually accepting of outsiders - a trait her wielders always seemed to possess as well.
It couldn't hurt to acquiesce to the one zanpaku-tou who had always stood by her. "He is promising. I am proud of his progress."
Shirayuki sighed. "Ironic, isn't it? Your very existence is a contradiction. You are the symbol of the very thing that your people so hate."
Inside her tattered white robe, Engel's fists clenched. The kitsune was right, and yet she hadn't said it to be malicious - but that only made it worse. Being reduced to this - a tool for shinigami, used only by those few of her people who turned their back on their core beliefs. At least this one's reason was not a lust for power, whose attempts to call her out she had always rejected, or a true belief that their people's way of life was wrong, whose requests she had reluctantly complied with.
His desire was that of her first wielder's, her creator's - a devotion that surpassed the beliefs he had been raised with. Even if that wielder himself was oblivious to just how deep that devotion ran.
"Well, I'm sure you, of all zanpaku-tou, can appreciate that particular irony. That abomination is still out there, isn't it?"
Contrary to her expectations, Shirayuki grinned, rather than becoming angry. "Ah, her. She was simply extraordinary. It's a shame she cast me aside."
Engel scoffed. "She abandoned everything, of her own free will, to become that... thing. That monster. She allowed herself to be seduced by a raw, primitive, broken world. She abandoned her humanity."
"Well, technically, she wasn't even human in the first place, seeing as she was born into one of the greatest noble families of the Soul Society.
If the German girl could have stomped her feet and screamed in frustration without looking foolish and childish, she would have. Instead, she settled for leveling a withering glare at the kitsune that made those white fox ears go flat against her head and her tail hang down between her legs. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Shirayuki whined. It was rewarding to see the beautiful spirit cowering, but Engel let up. She didn't really despise this zanpaku-tou, and certainly not as much as she did many of the others. "Besides," Shirayuki continued, cautiously straightening. "I'm practically the only one on you side at the moment, apart from little Tsuki-chan and Zangetsu - or, well, Kurotsuki for now."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that."
Emerging from the grey smoke was another zanpaku-tou - one that Engel was infinitely more wary of.
Clearly, Shirayuki felt the same way, as her ears were flat again, and her lips were drawn back to reveal her razor-sharp canines.
The new arrival laughed. "No need to be so tense," he assured. His dark skin had a sheen to it, and if one looked closely, they could see a snake scale pattern drawn on it. His face was beautiful, but in a sharp, angular way that spoke of danger. His scalp appeared to have a multitude of thin black dreadlocks hanging from it, but Engel knew that if stirred, they would reveal themselves to be a hissing, writhing mass of snakes. They shimmered a pale gold, but that paled in comparison to the spirit's molten eyes.
"Shinso," Engel greeted stiffly. Those snakes held a poison that was something even a zanpaku-tou should fear. And if they looked you in the eyes, they petrified you with terror - only for a moment, but for someone as quick as Shinso, even that moment was enough.
He looked at her. "Now, now, don't be so stiff. I have no intention of laying a hand on you - I am well aware of what would happen if I did, and I would rather avoid any unnecessary pain. Not to mention that even without that particular deterrent, I doubt the thought of harming you is ever one I would seriously entertain. It would be a shame to make you my enemy, particularly considering how uniquely interesting you are."
Coming from him, she wasn't sure it could be considered a compliment. In fact, it made her all the more wary. If Shinso was taking an interest in her...
The fur on the outsides of Shirayuki's arms was standing on end, and her throat was emitting a low growl. Her slender fingers were curved into claws. She and Shinso had an odd relationship - she feared him more than any other zanpaku-tou, but she didn't hate him. And he seemed to enjoy her company. They knew each other a lot better than many of the zanpaku-tou.
"What are you really here for?" the kitsune snarled, her silver eyes fixed on his gold ones. Despite their obvious differences, Engel could see something similar about the two. Neither was ever crass or blunt. Shirayuki might be more audacious, but they both had a certain way of holding themselves that inspired a sort of awe and fear, and both were undoubtedly aristocratic.
Shirayuki only ever lost her composure around a select few zanpaku-tou - the most notable of which was Shinso.
"I was just curious, that's all. The others are so boring." He sniffed, as if he was offended by the dullness of his peers. He liked to pretend he did things only to amuse himself.
Perhaps it wasn't such a ridiculous idea that he could be her ally. He had no loyalties to anyone but himself and his wielder - no loyalties even to that thing that ruled the shinigami. He was the type to do something just to see what would happen.
"Things are getting so interesting in the worlds lately, aren't they?" Shinso mused, smiling. It wasn't quite a grin, but his eyes held a spark of something more dangerous. Engel was just thankful it wasn't directed at her.
Shirayuki was calming down. Her fur was flat again, though her tail still twitched nervously. "No one would know that better than you," she said, crossing her arms.
His smile widened. "Yes, I suppose that's true."
Silence reigned for a moment, the smoke cutting them off from anything else. It seemed somewhat tense, and a little hard to breathe.
That tight, heavy atmosphere was broken by a girl in colorful furisode (4) bursting into their little space. "Shinsou-sama!" she exclaimed, stopping in front of him. "Come quick! She's stirring!"
His eyes widened in true surprise. He beckoned to the other two zanpaku-tou, and let the girl lead the way. Distance was irrelevant in the Dochitsukazu, so they took only a few steps through the thick grey smoke before leaving it again for another clear space.
This one was larger, and in the center was a glass cylinder. A zanpaku-tou spirit hung suspended inside. He was beautiful, and could have passed for a girl. He was insubstantial, a figure made of mist that reflected light to appear as a solid person. His yukata was made of clouds, and his obi of dew. And he was supposed to be in a deep, deep sleep.
But his eyes were open, and they were two stars that shone pale white.
The colorful girl ran forward and placed her hands on the glass. Her furisode bled with reds and yellows and oranges, and the colors seemed to rush forward, towards the imprisoned zanpaku-tou.
"Kyoka-sama!" she cried.
Shinso stepped forward. "Kyoka Suigetsu. Shouldn't you be resting?"
The spirit inside the glass cage didn't seem to hear either of them. He just looked around, blinking. One of his pale hands reached out to press against the glass, moving up, down, and to the sides. After a moment, his arm dropped again to his side. Shinso frowned, joining Tobiume.
Engel and Shirayuki stayed back, preferring to keep their distance. Kyoka and Shinso were some of the very oldest zanpaku-tou, born when shinigami were still discovering this aspect of their powers.
But their status paled in comparison to the two zanpaku-tou who approached now. The two dragons had taken human forms for now, but their presence was still overwhelming. The zanpaku-tou knelt before the eldest two of their kind, letting them make their way up to the glass cylinder.
With her eyes fixed on the space below her - it couldn't really be called the ground - she couldn't see what went on. But she could hear the booming shock of Ryujin Jakka's voice. "Shinso. Do you know anything about this?"
"I don't, actually. All I can tell is that he can't see or hear anything going on outside of the glass cylinder."
Engel glanced up, seeing the fire-dragon put its hand through the glass. The spirit inside flinched back, putting his arms defensively to shield himself from the heat. Around him, stray threads appeared, red ones, the spirit threads of a zanpaku-tou. Ryujin Jakka caught a few of them. When he tried to draw them out, they stopped at the glass, just as they should have.
"Nothing about the barrier is tainted," the fire zanpaku-tou announced. "Kyoka Suigetsu has not regained access to any of his power. Everything is as it should be."
"So then, why is he awake?" its companion asked. Hyorinmaru was almost as awe-inspiring as Ryujin Jakka. His voice was overwhelming as well, and it somehow managed to carry the impression of a chilling winter gale.
Shinso looked up at the two elders. "If I may?" he interjected. When Hyorinmaru consented, he continued, "Perhaps the Hogyoku has something to do with this? After all, we really don't know what it's capable of, and its powers are certainly extraordinary."
Ryujin Jakka studied Shinso closely. "Yes, it is possible. Of course you would be the one to think of it."
Even from a few meters away, Engel could see the tenseness in Shinso's expression from Ryujin Jakka's comment. The zanpaku-tou still treated him as a traitor, even a decade after he was proved not to be. Even though it was his wielder who had betrayed them.
Hyorinmaru growled. "That abomination should be destroyed. It does not belong in the world. It has corrupted the way of things."
Engel barred her teeth, though she knelt still. She knew that statement referred to her as well - and all of those touched by the Hogyoku. Those people were precious to her wielder and his nakama, and she would not let the Reiou (5), the being that ruled them and the one whose thoughts the two Elders were voicing, destroy them. And she would do whatever it took, with whoever it took, to ensure it.
As the dragon zanpaku-tou turned and left, she met Shinso's golden eyes through the crowd.
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Akito felt the comforting reiatsu approaching long before he heard the swishing of grass beneath feet. Kei walked up to him quietly, from behind.
"Are you even still awake?" his familiar, low voice asked. To Akito, who was only half-conscious, Kei's voice was muffled, soothing. He hummed noncommittally in reply, too tired to make words come out of his mouth, too tired to force the air out of his lungs.
"Obviously not," his nakama said, crouching down next to him on the balls of his feet. "What're you even doing out here so late?" he asked.
Akito let his head fall to the side to look at Kei. After three years of training as shinigami students, Kei looked older. He was twenty-five, and though he didn't look that old, he looked much older than fifteen. He was taller, his face more mature. And his waist-length black hair made him look much different from the fiery, impulsive redhead he had once been.
It trailed freely over his shoulders at the moment, free because it was night. Akito lifted a few strands in his fingers, feeling how smooth it was. According to several of the instructors, it was the only thing that kept them from having a heart attack every time Kei entered the room because they thought it was Shiba Kaien, back from the dead.
Kei glanced at the hand that was playing with his hair. "Wow," he said, "you must really be out of it." He chuckled softly, before he lifted himself up, stretching with his arms over his head for a moment.
Akito took the hand that was offered to him a moment later. It took effort to stand up, as his body felt heavy with tiredness. He stumbled against Kei; it seemed that attempting that particular form of kidou so many times in one night had taken more out of him than he had thought.
"Why're you out'ere?" he mumbled, slurring slightly from his sleepiness.
"Ah, I woke up a little while ago and saw you were gone," Kei said, putting an arm around him to hold him up. "I felt your reiatsu out here and thought I'd take a look. Good thing, too."
Akito's mouth quirked in a tiny grin. "Yah, you've got'n a whole lot better a' that," he said.
He could practically feel Kei flush slightly. "Oh, shut it," his friend muttered. "Or I'll drop you."
By the time they were at the edge of the field, Akito felt as if he couldn't move another step. He yawned, opening his jaw so wide he thought it would break. He was leaning heavily on Kei, ready to slide to the ground and fall asleep.
Kei sighed. "You're never gonna make it to the room," he stated. Before Akito could even comprehend what he'd said, his feet were literally swept out from underneath him, and he was suspended three feet off the ground.
"Hey..." he slurred, the only protest he could muster up. Kei was surprisingly comfortable... and warm. Too comfortable to really be annoyed.
"Don't tell anyone about this, got it?" his nakama said. Akito felt Kei begin to move, jostling him slightly. His eyes slid closed, only nighttime sounds penetrating his haze of tiredness. He couldn't have said how much time it took for Kei to carry him inside, then to their room. All he knew that he was blissful when he was lowered onto his soft futon and a warm blanket was pulled over him.
The last words he heard before falling into his dreams were, "Good night, baka."
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Keigo leapt away from his opponent, calling the kunai back to him. It he got too close, she would destroy him. Eighteen kunai laid in sheaths on his arms and legs - he held the other two in his hands.
"Coward! Come down here and fight like a man!" Tatsuki bellowed, shaking her fist at him. Leather-like armor covered her hands and forearms, and wickedly pointed steel spikes fit on top of her knuckles. Her shins and feet were covered in the same material, again with spikes fastened over the knuckles of her toes.
"Eh-heh, I don't think so!" he called down. He pulled two more of his knives out of their sheaths, holding them between his fingers. He threw one pair with small movements, and they flew through the air almost too fast to see. He didn't really want to kill her, after all.
She held an arm up to block them. One made it past, slicing her shoulder, but the other was stopped by the armor on her forearm. The other pair followed soon after.
Tatsuki scowled, annoyed. She turned her body so that the knifes flew across her chest, milimeters away from her shihakusho. "Why, you..." she growled. Quickly, she stooped down and picked up the knives, tossing them back at Keigo.
She wasn't very good. It was easy to catch them out of the air. But the moment of distraction had been enough for her to shun-po up next to him, and he had to duck quickly to avoid the roundhouse heading for his temple.
"Hey, that coulda really hurt me," he complained, continuing to dodge the barrage of punches and kicks she sent at him.
"Oh, stop whining," she said, her fist barreling forward to sink into his stomach.
"Gah!"
Her spikes had drawn blood, and the impact had knothe wind out of him. He was thrown back, landing on the dirt below them with a thud. In retaliation, he sent another pair of kunai at her, one right behind the other. She knocked aside the first, but the second landed in her shoulder.
The curses that flew out of her mouth were spectacular.
The laughter from the sidelines alerted them to their audience. "Hey, Arisawa, you sleepin' or somethin'?" Ikkaku shouted, cackling when she gave him a very rude gesture.
Yuzu rushed over to Keigo, her hands already glowing with the light of healing kidou. "Mo!" she grumbled. "You don't have to beat each other up like this. You always make more work for me."
He sighed at the cool sensation of the kidou. "Sankyu~, Yuzu-chan," he said, laying his head back and closing his eyes. It didn't hurt that much - Tatsuki hadn't been really trying - and besides, it was no good to train if no one actually tried to fight.
"Whatever, Asano-kun," she answered, though there was a smile in her voice this time. A moment later, her hands moved away. "Done!"she said, sounding satisfied.
Keigo sat up, watching the people around him. While Yuzu healed Tatsuki, the ferocious woman was mercilessly teased by Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Chizuru. They'd all found it strange, at first, when Chizuru went into Eleventh, but she fit right in with Yumichika. Rangiku also quickly jumped in the mix, stirring up things even more. Tatsuki was gonna go berserk soon if someone didn't calm her down.
Hisagi offered a hand to him. He took it, and was pulled to his feet. Right behind the lieutenant was Karin, and shadowing her, as always, was Chado. "You alright?" he asked once he had steadied Keigo.
"Ah, I'm fine. Yuzu-chan is a genius," he said, brushing himself off. "Kaihou (6)!" he ordered, and his kunai and their sheaths turned back into a katana, which he slid into the sheath at his waist.
"Damn right she is," Karin muttered.
Hisagi laughed. "And god forbid any of her adoring fans so much as looks at her with you around." He clapped a hand on his scowling third seat's shoulder.
She looked so much like Ichigo with that expression. It made Keigo feel nostalgic. He watched the interaction between his friends quietly. Where are you, Ichigo? he thought.
A bellow from a few meters away made them all jump several feet in the air. It seemed that Tatsuki had finally reached the limit of her idiot-endurance, and unlike Keigo, her zanpaku-tou was still released. Chizuru, unsurprisingly, was the first to go flying.
As her first was heading towards Ikkaku's gut, though, the air... opened. It wasn't a tear, like a hollow's garganta. It was smooth, and almost like a vertical pool hanging there. A slim hand reached out and caught her wrist, stopping her cold.
Keigo smiled. "Hey, Mizuiro!" he called, as the pool widened and his friend stepped through it, holding a wakizashi (7). The blade's edge was coated with a deep purple liquid, the same color as the substance covering the surface of the pool. Mizuiro himself wore the uniform of the Onmitsukidou (8).
Tatsuki, given a chance to think, cooled down. A sympathetic Yuzu pulled her away from her antagonizers, to the relief of pretty much everyone.
Keigo jogged toward Mizuiro. "Hey, what're you doing back so early? I thought you were gonna be gone on your super-secret thingy for the next week!" His friend was still separating himself from everyone. With Ichigo missing, there was nothing really tying him to their group besides habit. It made Keigo sad sometimes, to know that Mizuiro was so closed off from everything. And being in the Onmitsukidou couldn't help - he was fully immersed in a world that encouraged distance from other people, that rejected emotions.
"Well, there're many advantages to being able to cross dimensions and distances in a second," Mizuiro said, giving him that little smile that didn't really reach his eyes. "I thought, since it was Saturday, I'd check in with you." He reached behind him and touched the surface of the strange portal in the air. It rippled, and vanished.
Keigo slung an arm around the ninja's shoulders. "Well, I'm happy you did," he said, grinning.
It was easy to fall back into the old patterns of interaction, though with Ichigo and Orihime absent, there was something missing that even their shinigami friends couldn't replace. Keigo could stop thinking about things he couldn't fix with his friends to distract him.
He spared one more thought to his missing friends. Wherever you are, I hope you're happy, Ichigo.
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warmthwarmthwarmth
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1. müde - tired
2. Dochitsukazu - literally "gray area", my name for the zanpaku-tou world
3. kitsune - fox-spirit, typically pictured with fox ears and tail, mine has thin fur on the outsides of her arms and legs and clawed hands and feet as well
4. furisode - the formal kimonos worn by people like noblewomen and geishas and on special occasions
5. Reiou - the Soul King
6. kaihou - release (Renji uses this in volume 7)
7. wakizashi - short sword, like Gin's
8. Onmitsukidou - the Stealth Force
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Well, this is the first chapter where I really hint of things to come, besides Aizen's cryptic visit. There isn't much of the main trio, but I felt like I should put in some other things. (Besides, while I can write Ishida's behavior, getting in his head is hard.)
The humans show up! Yay!
Here's their positions:
Karin - third seat, ninth company
Yuzu - fourth seat, fourth company
Chado - fifth seat, ninth company
Keigo - seventh seat, thirteenth company
Tatsuki - sixth seat, eleventh company
Mizuiro - fourth seat, second company, and commander of the Secret Remote Squad
Chizuru - tenth seat, eleventh company
I believe Byakuya will show up next chapter. That'll be interesting. And the mysterious girl that Sode no Shirayuki talked about will show up later on, with Ashido.
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Review Replies:
Maverick14th: Thanks! I like writing them from someone else's POV, it's really interesting. I'm going to introduce Ashido later on, but he'll be playing an important role, as will Aizen. Updates will definitely be coming quicker, now that I have the storyline figured out ^-^.
Gemini24: *holds up hands* Okie-dokie, I'll be putting Ashido in, then :). I love how Tatsuki is like Kukaku, too ^.^. And Tatsuki was just in her last year in the school, so she was chosen to greet the freshmen. I'll put Eishi in next chapter, when Byakuya shows up. And here's a little IchiIshi for ya... ;). And Aizen's visitor shall remain shrouded in mystery for now... XD. Thank you for the wonderful reviews!
KaKashiisWifey:I decided to use their new names, because they sort of are someone else for the time being. They'll go back to being themselves later on, though. Thanks for reviewing again!
Reina de la Noche: No worries, Ashido's gonna be there XD! And I adore long hair on Ichi. So hot... *drools* And here's some IchiIshi ^-^. As for Isshin... well, I've no idea what his zanpaku-tou is, I just know that it's similar to Zangetsu (because Isshin could teach Ichigo about it), so if really necessary, I'm playing the AU card. As for the humans' zanpaku-tou, some of them show up here, though you'll have to wait for the others ^-^. And HIchigo will show up soon, don't you worry! As for the zanpaku-tou, I wrote this scene without really thinking about it, and then I re-read your review, and I was like 0.o. So I hope this satisfies! And thank you for your enthusiastic reviews!
KurosakiCrystal18: Awesomeness! Thankyou! I haven't wrote this yet, but Rukia realizes it's him, thought she doesn't tell anyone. Besides her, no one else does until he has to use his full powers.
Cased In Darkness: Wow. Really, I'm so happy about this review. I wanted Ichigo to have people with him to support him, so I'm happy you think that was a good choice. And I agree - Range is insanely well written. I wish I had black. k. kat's way with words. As for the typos and twisting of words... ^^', yeah, I've gone back through and noticed those. Whoops. My eyes just skipped right over those when I wrote and re-read - and I don't have a beta-reader to catch those for me. I think I did a little better this time, though. Mugetsu actually means "no moon", so it still fits in with Zangestu, which I believe is "blade moon". And I'm sorry it took so long to update T^T. Really. Your threat is a good motivator, though ^^'. Thank you for your awesome review!
La terrible La: I love Ishida. He's absolutely fabulous ^-^. Thank you!
My Solitude: Thank you! :)