Akuen
DISCLAIMER: (Sighs) Yeah, Kubo Tite owns BLEACH.
~..~..~
It lies around us like a cloud,
A world we do not see;
Yet the same closing of an eye
May bring us there to be.
Its gentle breezes fan our cheek;
Amid our worldly cares,
Its gentle voices whisper love,
And mingle with our prayers.
Sweet hearts around us throb and beat,
Sweet helping hands are stirred,
And palpitates the veil between
With breathings almost heard.
The silence, awful, sweet, and calm,
They have no power to break;
For mortal words are not for them
To utter or partake.
So thin, so soft, so sweet, they glide,
So near to press they seem,
They lull us gently to our rest,
They melt into our dream.
And in the hush of rest they bring
'T is easy now to see
How lovely and how sweet a pass
The hour of death may be; --
To close the eye, and close the ear,
Wrapped in a trance of bliss,
And, gently drawn in loving arms,
To swoon to that -- from this, --
Scarce knowing if we wake or sleep,
Scarce asking where we are,
To feel all evil sink away,
All sorrow and all care.
Sweet souls around us! watch us still;
Press nearer to our side;
Into our thoughts, into our prayers,
With gentle helpings glide.
Let death between us be as naught,
A dried and vanished stream;
Your joy be the reality,
Our suffering like the dream.
"The Other World" by Harriet Beecher Stowe
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Chapter 1: "What is in a Name?"
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White. It was all she could see. Stretching beyond the horizon like a large blanket, the snow-barren floor swirled in tiny white circles by a passing breeze, glistening and sparkling against a nonexistent sun. Glancing down, Rukia found the tendrils of ice, just like every other time she visited this place, crawling up and around her favorite pair of slippers. The ice was thin and transparent as glass. It shined at many angles, creating multiple tiny rainbows. The movement of the ice seemed almost loving, like an embrace between old lovers that were parted for too long.
"Rukia…"
Her eyes looked forward. The winds began to pick up, whistling and howling against her ears. Chips of ice and light, fluffy powdered snow caught onto her sleeping yukata, striking her flushed cheeks and coating her coal-black hair and eyelashes. Her lips parted, her warm breath crystallizing in the frigid air.
"Who…are you?" she whispered softly.
Beyond the misty clouds that obscured her vision, Rukia could just faintly see the translucent figure; a solitary sleeve flapping loudly with the wind. Rukia, in desperation to see more of the mysterious persona that evaded her vision, squinted her eyes. The man's voice was a deep baritone and was as smooth as a finely crafted katana. It sent shivers down her spine and spurred forward a sense of belonging, a sense of comradeship within her. Her hand reached out, her fingertips lightly grazing the soft snow. For a moment, Rukia caught a glimpse.
A beautiful fighting kimono made of the purest shade of ivory with the most complex of decorative stitching in white and light blue.
A sleeve longer than the other…
Long light blue hair pulled high into a ponytail…
Eyes the shade of electric blue…
Skin the color of freshly fallen snow.
"Call my name, Rukia…" he continued softly, and yet could still be heard over the windy terrain. "Grasp the hilt and gain my power, little one. Say it, you know it. You've known it your whole life…"
A quaking, trembling sound reached her ears.
Rukia gasped as she looked down to find an ordinary katana before her, pierced into the ground and rattling with the force of the winds. She could have sworn it wasn't there before…A sense of unease filled her, uncertainty shining in her eyes.
Gazing back at the beautiful man hidden within the snow's feint screen, she called out shakily, "But…But what if I don't know your name!? How do I know!?"
The man gave a feint, almost condescending smirk. His eyes gleamed with challenge. "You know it, Rukia. You just have to try. Remember."
Their eyes locked in a battle of wills, his orbs piercing through her weak, defenseless ones. The girl felt as if he was searching her very soul, but for what she didn't know. It took several minutes, but the man finally closed his eyes and gave a resigned, but almost disappointed sigh. Rukia felt a strong throb of guilt plague her. She hated it, absolutely hated it when she couldn't meet others' expectations.
"I'm sorry," Rukia cried out. The man looked at her, his sleeve still flapping in the breeze. Hot, heavy tears fell over the bridge of her eyes and coursed down softly over her red cheeks. Trembling, Rukia gave a pained gasp as she wrapped her arms around her in an attempt to comfort herself. "I want to know your name! I really do! Why can't I find it?"
The man didn't respond, but instead raised the arm with the longer sleeve.
A gasp hitched in her throat as she felt nonexistent glass fingertips touch her tears and wiped them away.
"You're still not ready."
Her heart clenched as his arm fell back to his side and the feeling of his fingertips slipped away. Looking around, Rukia panicked as she saw the beautifully cold, vast desert slowly seep away into darkness. The man turned away from her and Rukia, breaking free from her stance and shattering the delicate ice, ran after him.
"MATTE-!"
"The next time we meet, I hope you remember it, Rukia."
"WAIT, PLEASE!"
The blinding whiteness gave way to darkness.
…
"WAIT!"
Rukia's eyes snapped open. Bolting up into a seated position, frantic purple eyes glanced worriedly around their surroundings. Tatami mats, beautiful paintings on bamboo, decorated shoji doors, expensively made dressers, and a small low table littered with papers covered in (horrible) drawings in the center of the room. Two pairs of slippers were placed by her futon: her normal Kuchiki slippers and her personal, fluffy Chappy slippers Miyako-dono gave her for her first celebrated birthday within her division. A small pair of slender shoulders slumped forward in slight relief. Eyelids tiredly slid closed, hiding away exhausted orbs.
"I'm sorry," her whispered apology echoed in the empty, pitch-black room.
Releasing a sigh, Rukia pushed her foreign-made comforter and sheets away from her suspiciously cold body. A pair of dainty feet slipped into the fluffy Chappy-themed slippers before making her way to the plain shoji doors that led to her small, but elegant garden. The wood slid against wood and Rukia winced as her eyes, accustomed to the dark, were flooded with the silver light of the full moon. Leaning against the wooden frame of the shoji wall, Rukia stared at the moon and gave a relaxed and unabashed smile. For some reason, when the moon was at its fullest, it felt as if her body was singing a melody, yearning and longing for the loving caress of silver light.
"Say it…Say my name, little one…"
"God damn it!" Rukia cursed, her eyes clenching as she tried to hang on to that beautiful voice. It was too late, the voice was fading away. Again.
"Why does this always happen around the full moon?"
The question, like so many others, was left unanswered.
Closing her eyes again, Rukia tried her hardest to remember him. What little that she saw had struck her as eternal and ungodly beauty. Everything about him was white and so perfect, a solitary white beacon hidden deep within the dark remnants of her soul calling out to her. And she felt herself barred.
Pure white lily skin…An ivory, white and light blue fighting kimono…A sleeve longer than the other, almost reaching his knees…Long light blue hair and electric blue eyes.
Rukia rubbed the back of her head with the heel of her palm and scowled. "I'll just have to ask Kaien-dono tomorrow."
Stepping back into her room, Rukia close the shoji door and, after much fumbling in the darkness, managed to light a small candle on her table near her small planted bonsai tree. Walking into her large closet, Rukia picked a simple outer kimono to place over her white sleeping yukata. Like routine, Rukia carefully opened the decorated shoji doors that led to a hallway inside the Kuchiki Estate. Every time she had the dream about her zanpaktou in her inner world, Rukia could never fall right back to sleep. It was almost habitual that she would enter the Kuchiki kitchen for a small snack to calm her nerves and, hopefully, lull her back to sleep at the time of the full moon every month. Rukia counted her blessings that she hadn't been caught yet.
Closing the shoji doors as smooth and as quietly as she could, Rukia turned and very carefully made her way to the kitchens with her small lamp in hand. Biting her bottom lip gently, Rukia paused at an intersection and cupped her hand around the lit glass frame, dimming the light further. The snores and rustles of blankets of the immediate family entered her ears. Peering at the dark halls, Rukia continued on, her slipper-clad feet barely making a sound as she made a right and down a hallway where there were cement walls on one side and the other a wall of sliding doors to enter the large dining hall. Allowing her hand to fall away, Rukia allowed a triumphant smile to light up her face. The rest would be easier. Taking another turn, Rukia quickly found her way to the kitchens.
The Kuchiki kitchens were the state of the art cook's dream. With multiple sizes and styles of knives, pans, pots, strainers, filters, tongs, forks, and spoons and the best and easiest fire place installed, any chef that had the opportunity to work here had reached the peak of their career. It was also the place that Rukia loved to visit, despite many of the proclamations the cooks and servants made that royalty such as her shouldn't be in such a sweaty and unappealing environment before stuffing her with fresh pastries and deserts, all the while allowing her to taste-test experimental recipes. Giving a happy sigh, Rukia walked toward the large pantry and grabbed her favorite fruit: an orange.
Taking one of the smaller knives from a drawer, Rukia quickly rinsed and dried it off before carefully cutting the orange into sections on the countertop, the candle creating long shadows of her fingers, of the orange and of the knife.
"Say it…Say it…Say it…Say it…Say it…Say it…Say it…"
The voice slowly trickled in one ear and out the other so fast that Rukia wasn't quite sure if she heard anything at all. Shaking her head, Rukia allowed the scent of the fresh, zesty orange to take her into autopilot. The soft, almost inaudible, click and clunk of the knife hitting the wooden cutting board filtered through the empty air. But she couldn't get him out of her mind. All she could see was white. White, white, white – all white. Light shades of blue, crystal clear glass and WHITE. Unwanted tears built up in her eyes. With a frustrated hiss, Rukia dropped the orange on the cutting board and wiped the slowly releasing tears with the cuff of her sleeve.
Clink. Shatter. Scatter.
She stared down in surprise. The counter was littered with tiny shards, mixing with the pieces of cut up orange. The candlelight shined and glistened against the delicate shards of ice.
Where…? Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Say it…Say it…Say it…"
The voice, his voice was getting louder, gaining volume. Her head began to pound from the force.
"SAY IT!"
"I DON'T KNOW HOW!" she hissed angrily, her eyes clenching tightly shut. Bitter tears escaped from the corners of her eyes, but freezing before they even reached half-way down her cheeks. Choking back desperate sobs, Rukia slashed the knife angrily through a piece of orange and into the cutting board in frustration. The sound was louder than the others, but never reaching past the shoji walls. Rukia, trying to calm herself, opened her eyes and immediately felt her jaw slacken. The handle of the knife her hand gripped so tightly was now covered in ice, and she could only watch as the ice continued to grow, stretching over the sharp blade.
"Rukia."
Breath hitching in her throat, Rukia whipped around, unable to keep back the gasp. Byakuya stared at her coolly with only a tiny hint of curiosity as he took in the frozen tears on her face, the slowly melting ice on the countertop and the frozen kitchen knife now attached to her hand. Dressed in a simple sleeping yukata, slippers, and a heavy outer-kimono, Rukia couldn't help but feel as if she was meeting a stranger. He wasn't wearing his kenseikan – it looked so different falling in silky disarray. The only thing that reminded her it was him was the way he held himself tall and proud, as well as his stoic indigo gaze.
"N-Nii-sama!" Rukia stammered uncomfortably. A light blush stained her pale cheeks. She struggled to separate her hand from the knife.
"…" He raised an eyebrow at her. Rukia flushed even more.
"I…I…" Rukia sighed softly, tears shining in her eyes. "It keeps telling me to call its name, but…" Rukia took her free hand to wipe away the tears and bit back a groan of humiliation when more ice clattered to the countertop, "I…I don't know its name."
Byakuya stared at her silently as she bit her bottom lip and tried to break the strong ice encasing her hand and the knife. He looked at the shards of ice lingering with the cut up orange pieces and the remaining pieces of ice that remained on her cheeks that she didn't manage to brush away. Finally, he walked forward until he stood behind her. His warm, strong hands clasped her tiny and unsurprising cold wrist and hand. Rukia watched with anticipation, her heart thudding in nerves as she felt him gather a small amount of reiatsu.
"Hadou Thirty-One," he whispered lightly. A small amount of red light shined through the small cracks of his fingers. Their faces lit up with the light. "Shakkahou."
She felt a small prick on the back of her hand – it felt warm rather than scorching, skin-burning hot.
The ice cracked then shattered into several pieces, glistening against the candlelight as it fell to the small puddle of water on the countertop. Rukia eagerly dropped the knife and pulled her hand to her chest. Breathing hard against her hand and rubbing it with her free hand, Rukia flexed it. Though numb, her hand wasn't worse for wear.
"A-Arigatou, nii-sama."
"Hm."
His light footsteps echoed silently in the kitchen, his shadow stretching in a long, thin fashion against the walls as he made his way to the exit. Rukia stared at his back, her hand forgotten. Her eyes were sad; a small frown marred her lips.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! She scolded herself, turning back to the mess before her. Staying away from the knife that stood semi-straight in the cutting block, Rukia picked up a piece of orange.
"Listen."
Stopping, Rukia turned to look back at Byakuya to find him still at the exit, his back still towards her.
"The best way to find your zanpaktou's name is to wait and listen. And be patient."
He took a step out into the dark hall and hesitated for a moment as if pondering something.
"And don't let the elders see those slippers."
And with that, the youngest Kuchiki Clan leader left his only adopted sister alone.
Giving a smile, Rukia slipped a piece of orange past her lips. Her Chappy the Rabbit slipper-clad feet swinging in the air from the stool she sat on.
-
"COME AT ME WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT, KUCHIKI!" Kaien hollered, racing towards the small shinigami with amazing speed.
"H…HAI!" Rukia answered, trying with all of her might to match up with his thrusts, parrying as fast as she could. She winced multiple times when she accidentally slipped up and gave him open spots to hit. But never did she allow herself to close her eyes and lose herself to the initial pain, not like she did before in the Shinigami Academy.
Rukia quickly brought her wooden kendo sword up over her head, and with both hands, managed to stop his downward stroke. The force of impact rattled her arms and sent vibrations into her chest.
Sheesh! She cursed, ducking and giving a low round house kick. Kaien quickly dodged to the side and gave a horizontal sweep. She quickly met the blow with her own. The sound emanating from the two swords echoed like thunderclaps in the deserted dojo. His strength…I can't even explain it!
"GO RUKIA-CHAN, GO!" Kiyone screamed from her position by the wall.
"YOU CAN DO IT, RUKIA-CHAN! GO TEAM KUCHIKI!" Sentaro, never one to be beaten, joined in.
Well, almost deserted.
Left, right, jump, sweep down, charge, right, left, right, kick, horizontal sweep. Pivot, pivot, charge. Downward sweep intercepted by an upward sweep. Diagonal cut, jab, parry, charge, evade, duck, kick out, left, right, left, right, thrust forward.
Damn it, she could already feel her arms getting weaker. Her eyes widened in horror when all of a sudden, his pre-image disappeared.
"GOT YA!" Kaien roared as he appeared beside her; an almost manic smirk had spread itself as widely as possible across his roguishly handsome face. Rukia gasped in surprised, only twisting her head fast enough to look at him from the corner of her eye. He darted forward, prepared to deliver a punishing blow to her lower back when she suddenly disappeared from sight.
"What the -?" Kaien blinked; Caribbean blue eyes shocked. Shunpo? But how?
SHIT!
He whirled around, lifting his sword just in time to parry a deadly aiming sword. Rukia's wide, disbelieving eyes brought on a cocky smirk. With a free hand, he quickly grasped one of her small, dainty wrists and flung her over his shoulder.
"AH!" Rukia shrieked as she slammed onto the hard polished dojo floor, skidding and sliding until she crashed against the wooden wall behind her. Groaning, Rukia grasped her head in her hands. "Itai…"
Kaien blinked in surprise. Kiyone gasped in concern and hurriedly got to her feet, Sentaro hot on her heels.
"Rukia-chan! Dajibou!?"
Quickly making his way to the curled up girl, Kaien gulped. Concern and guilt stabbed him hard in the chest as he knelt down beside her.
"Kuchiki, are you all right? I didn't think I threw you that – UGH!"
Kaien doubled over grasping his stomach. His mouth hung open, gasping for air. A pissed off but smirking Rukia let go of the kendo sword she had slapped against her fukutaichou's midsection. The Kuchiki immediately found herself hoisted into the air by a pair of strong, calloused hands; she felt almost ready to pass out from the sudden rush of blood to her already throbbing head. Sentaro lifted her onto his shoulders as Kiyone clapped and cheered.
"Great job, Rukia-chan! You beat Kaien-dono to the ground!"
"SUCH GREAT TACTICS AND ACTING SKILLS! YOU'RE A NATURAL, RUKIA-CHAN!"
"Fuck you, guys!" Kaien half-heartedly griped at the cheering pair. If one looked close enough, they would find a small, but satisfied smirk playing on his lips. "That was such a cheap shot!"
An indignant Rukia opened her mouth for a retort when a light-hearted voice interrupted her: "Well, well! What do we have here?"
Four pairs of eyes turned to the shoji door leading outside to find their taichou smiling at them in amusement, his brown eyes twinkling. Rukia grasped onto Sentaro's thick, spiky black hair to keep her hands from reaching out on their own accord and grasp onto the long, white tendrils of hair that lazily swayed from the summer wind outside.
"UKITAKE-TAICHOU!!!" Kiyone and Sentaro shouted at the same time, reverence etched into every portion of their faces as they hurriedly dropped to the floor in a formal bow, almost to the point of kowtowing. Rukia yelped as she fell forward from Sentaro's broad shoulders.
Groaning against the harsh floor, Rukia willed herself not to pass out.
"RUKIA-CHAN" cried Sentaro, fear resonating in his gaze, "I'm so sorry!"
"Now look what you did you buffoon!" Kiyone angrily pulled at his ear.
"OW! Let go of me you psychotic bitch!"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"
Kaien sighed, rubbing his temples. Taking pity on the tiny Kuchiki, the fukutaichou stood up despite of his throbbing stomach. Kaien couldn't hold back the grin as he picked up both of their swords. Dang, the girl could deliver a hard hit when she wanted to. The Shiba-heir was making his way towards the poor girl when he stopped in surprise. Ukitake looked at Rukia in concern, ignoring the fighting fourth-seats. Ukitake stepped forward and reached down.
"Oh, dear. Here we go, Rukia."
Rukia's eyes almost literally ripped open when she felt a pair of strong, but exceedingly gentle hands wrap themselves around her waist. Ukitake gave a small, charming smile as he sat her gently to her feet as if she weighed as light as a feather and was as fragile as a porcelain doll.
"Are you alright?"
Blushing, Rukia nodded, "H-Hai! Arigatou, taichou!"
Chuckling, Ukitake reached into one of his taichou's jacket pockets and pulled out a chocolate bar in the shape of a rabbit. Rukia's eyes and face lit up at the sight. She eagerly accepted the treat and, without thinking, dined in.
Unbeknownst to her, all of the occupants gave her a small, sad smile. Ukitake held in a bitter sigh and instead, channeled his negativity into showing his excitement at bringing such an exuberant smile from the almost seemingly depressed Kuchiki princess. He patted her head. Kaien grinded his teeth, clenching his fists as he mentally tried to calm himself. It took everything within him to keep him from going to the sixth division barracks and handing Byakuya his ass to him personally.
It was fucking sad that something as simple as a chocolate bar could bring a girl such happiness.
"KUCHIKI!" he bellowed, smirking evilly as Rukia squeaked in surprise. She choked on the chocolate momentarily; her cheeks flamed in embarrassment.
"H-Hai?"
"Once you're done piggin' out," he took delight at her horrified facial expression, as well as the darkening of the cherry-bright blush, "Meet me just outside of the barracks. There's a place I want to take you for our training."
"Yes, sir!"
Nodding, Kaien strolled out…but not before delivering a swift blow of retribution. His foot connected with her bottom.
Rukia gave a screech as she flew forward, her hands grasping frantically at the treat that was suspended in mid-air. She released a small sigh of relief when it landed safely in the cradle of her cupped hands. Angrily, she yelled indignantly at her laughing fukutaichou's back,
"K-Kaien-dono!"
"Payback for the low blow, Kuchiki! Nyah!"
Rukia pouted softly, still sitting on the dojo floor.
"Say it."
She closed her eyes, her head bowing. The half-eaten treat was forgotten.
"Can we help you with anything, taichou?" Kiyone asked eagerly, her hands clasped together on her bosom. Her cheeks flushed. Ukitake laughed lightly, rubbing the back of his head as Sentaro cleanly pushed her to the side. The man seemed to be just as eager, maybe even more so.
"Hai, taichou! All you have to do is ask and I shall do it! As your most hard-working sub -UGH!" Sentaro's head snapped backward from Kiyone's uppercut.
"YOU PIGHEAD! I ASKED THE TAICHOU FIRST!"
"BUT I AM THE MOST CAPABLE!"
"NOSE PICKER!"
"SELF-ABSORBED!"
"PIG!"
"HAG!"
"TAICHOU!" Kiyone finally proclaimed, her fierce eyes directed at her beloved captain. Ukitake gave a meek smile.
"Hai, Kiyone-san?"
"There must be something you need done!"
"Something that both of us can do!"
By now, the two fourth-seat co-owners were forehead to forehead, "SO WE CAN SEE WHOSE THE BEST!"
Ukitake paused, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well…I did just get a large load of papers from soutaichou…"
"SUGOI!"
The white-haired captain blinked in surprise when instead of seeing two of his subordinates, he saw two trails of dust leading back to his and Kaien's headquarters.
"Those two," he laughed, ruffling his hair. Realizing that Rukia's reiatsu was still in the room, the thirteenth division captain turned around with surprise, a teasing smile playing on his lips,
"Rukia, you're still here? You better finish the chocolate before Kaien comes back and decides to –Rukia?" Ukitake paused in concern, brown eyes glinting in worry as he saw the small Kuchiki still sitting where she landed from Kaien's kick. He couldn't see her down turned face, the chocolate lying half-finished in her grasp. Moving to her, Ukitake kneeled down. "Rukia?" He questioned softly.
Her amethyst eyes, usually plagued with insecurity, worry, and sadness, were vacant. As if she was seeing something that he couldn't. He waved his hand over her face and as expected, didn't receive a response. He snapped his fingers. Nothing. Ukitake tilted her head. Her eyes were dazed and, his eyebrows shot up, her eyelashes were covered in frost. She exhaled a breath, crystallizing and turning into steam in contrast to the warm temperature of the room.
"An ice-based zanpaktou," he murmured as he speculated her. "How interesting! Here I was so sure that you were an animal type…"
A sudden gasp escaped Rukia's light-blue tinged lips. Silver-coated eyelashes fluttered closed against flushed cheeks before shooting upward to reveal alarmed, amethyst orbs. Shock being the most noticeable emotion.
"T-Taichou?"
Ukitake smiled, "Welcome back to the living. I see that you zanpaktou wanted to have a word with you?"
Rukia blushed lightly, uncomfortably. "H-Hai. He…he keeps talking to me, telling me to say his name. He even says his name sometimes, but whenever he does, it's like…it's like…"
"Like you've got cotton in your ears," Ukitake clarified with understanding, shifting into a more comfortable position by sitting in front of his subordinate, his hands in his taichou-jacket sleeves.
Rukia nodded with a relieved expression. "Yes, exactly like that. It's so frustrating!"
Ukitake nodded with a small chuckle. "Aw, yes. The inability to hear your zanpaktou's name is quite irritating, isn't it? It's been quite a while for me, but I can still remember feeling the same way about my zanpaktou."
Rukia watched in amazement as Ukitake unsheathed his sword and placed it on the dojo floor between them. The sword, in Rukia's opinion, felt to be vibrating in a gentle rumble. Its power oozing off in waves as it pulsed like a heartbeat. But…it was strange. Her eyebrows furrowed downward in confusion; she tapped her chin with her index finger. The sword's aura was…weird, almost conflicting in a way. Ukitake peered at his sword with a fond smile and looked at Rukia expectedly, waiting for her verdict.
"Is it just me, sir, or does your zanpaktou seem to…"
"Clash?" he offered with a proud smile, not too many people paid close enough attention at his zanpaktou to see the difference between his and Shunsui's.
"Hai."
"Yes, and there's a reason for that. I can assume that you have heard the legend that Shunsui and I are the only ones to wield the only two-sword zanpaktou in Soul Society, correct?" Rukia nodded. "Well, there's a difference between Shunsui's Katen Kyoukotsu and my Sougyo No Kotowari. Shunsui's zanpaktou are two individual swords, two zanpaktou spirits with the same, complimentary power. It may sound confusing, but Shunsui's zanpaktou has two spirits, siblings. My zanpaktou, however, as you can see, is only a solitary sword."
"So how -?"
"When I release my zanpaktou into shikai form, my zanpaktou splits into two separate, but identical swords. You see, Rukia, my zanpaktou may not have the form of two separate swords like Shunsui, but due to my zanpaktou's…special personality, it has different powers and thus must separate into two when activated."
Rukia scratched the back of her head, feeling foolish. "Gomen, demo, I don't understand, taichou."
"To put it simply, my zanpaktou has a split personality – two opposing beliefs and two different powers. In order to use them effectively, my sword must split to use both."
Understanding finally settled in. "So when your zanpaktou first started speaking to you…?"
Ukitake laughed. "I was utterly confused! You can't imagine how upset I was when my zanpaktou's behavior would be one way but suddenly change into another. It took me forever to say my zanpaktou's name; to put it quite frankly, I almost thought Sougyo No Kotowari gave up on me!"
"How?" Rukia eagerly leaned forward in anticipation that Ukitake blinked in surprise.
"How did I learn his name?"
Rukia nodded, her body practically thrumming with excitement.
"Listen and concentrate, Rukia. Find a quiet place and reach out to your zanpaktou."
The excitement wilted away from Rukia's expected face. "That's…it? But how could you tell their names? Did they tell you?"
"They did, but they also dropped hints by showing their appearance. I suppose your inner world is also supposed to alert you to their name. Does that help?"
A vast, white desert with nothing in the horizon. Drifting snow and ice.
Electric blue eyes with a solitary sleeve rustling in the breeze. A trembling sword pierced into a bank of snow.
"You know my name…"
Rukia smiled at her taichou, her eyes much clearer than Ukitake had seen them before. He couldn't help but smile back. She nodded, "Arigatou, taichou!"
"It's my pleasure to help my subordinates, Rukia."
"KUCHIKI!" roared a distant voice. Rukia paled.
"Ah! There goes Kaien." Ukitake commented off-handedly, unsurprisingly unaffected at his fukutaichou's blood-thirsty shriek of impatience that sent every division member hiding for cover. His face seemed to radiate with happiness. "You might want to hurry! But first…Now let's see, I think I might have it somewhere. Ah, here we go!"
Ukitake, smiling as brightly as the sun, produced a small bag of sweet taffies and chocolate bars.
"Good luck with your training! I hope you find out your zanpaktou's name out soon."
Rukia shyly accepted the bag. Bowing low to her taichou, Rukia thanked him again before sprinting hell-bent to the front of the Thirteenth Division where Kaien, eye twitching madly, pulled her by the scuff of her collar.
"K-Kaien-dono! Where are we going!?"
"You know, I was going to be nice and tell you earlier, but after making me wait for THIRTY MINUTES!, I think I'll leave you in suspense."
"Kaien-dono…" she whined in a small pout. Kaien looked ahead determinedly.
"Don't think that face can change my mind! I'm not as dumb as Miyako, Kuchiki!"
Rukia gasped, "How dare you say that about your own wife!?"
"Very easily! Have ya heard the things she says about me? Now be your stuck-up Kuchiki-ness and keep quiet."
"I-I am NOT STUCK UP!"
"Psh-ah!"
Together, the two made their way into Hokutan, the third district of West Rukongai near Mountain Koifushi.
"You're lagging behind, Kuchiki!"
"W-Well slow down! I'm much smaller than you, Kaien-dono!"
"Naaah, you need the exercise."
…
"By the way, who's teaching you how to shunpo?"
"Um…eh…"
"IT'S MIYAKO, ISN'T IT!? I knew it!"
Rukia gave an exasperated sigh, jogging to keep up with her fukutaichou's long strides. But nevertheless, a smile of content played on her lips as she listened to Kaien-dono's complains about Miyako stealing his job. The small bag of treats given to her by her precious taichou bounced up and down within her sack slung across her back.
The void seemed nonexistent.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
A/N: Thank you for the reviews!
Most of the information that I will be writing in regards to kidou spells and zanpaktous and their names (such as Shunsui's and Ukitake's) have come from the website:
w w w . b l e a c h e x i l e . c o m
I will also probably use wikipedia if it is reliable. Just wanted to clear that up!
And the place I mentioned were Rukia and Kaien are going to train is true! I got it from manga chapter 268, page 4.
Ja ne!
-Miss Artemis