A/N: Again I owe it to St. Kitsune for bringing this chapter into being. Keep it up with those ideas!! 8D

Disclaimer: I don't even own a cell phone yet, for God's sake. -.-'' How d'you expect me to possibly afford claiming even a tiny fraction of the groundbreaking franchise we know as Bleach? Because I don't really think so, myself.

"Seven."

As far as Sajin Komamura was concerned, Tenken's huge, sonorously rolling voice could have crumbled mountains for all its sheer intensity, and he prided himself for possibly being the only individual in existence to listen to those base tones and not have to so much as flinch, even with his own ears being as sensitive as they were. As it was, he could still feel the earth tremble beneath him with the presence of that voice, uttering that single word as though it were a charm delicious to the taste. But then, had he himself dared to utter it quite yet, he would have savored it like a pastry as well. As of now, however, he dared not speak that single syllable himself…no, not yet…it was a glorious hope, and even the brightest of hopes could always be shattered, as he had come to learn countless times in his life. He would not permit himself to say that word, that number, until he was absolutely certain to his very bones that it would be his, and his to utter with pride, with triumph. No, until that time came, he would utter it only in mind, in heart, and…hope…

He feels it with every fiber in his body as Tenken shifts, where the armored giant sits beside him, the way the earth quivers once more in the wake of that simple adjustment in posture. Tenken, the guardian of heaven. His zanpakuto.

A greater honor Komamura could not imagine, to be able to sit beside this great being that is a part of himself - to be able to take comfort in the presence of this omnipotent strength that stirs the very bones of the earth. He had hardly been able to believe it, those few weeks ago, when he had come face to face with his zanpakuto spirit for the first time…the unbelievable power that had been his all along, fostered and nurtured by the hard stares of every passerby he had ever had to cross, every insult he had ever had to endure, all the pain he had ever had to heal…embodied in armor of gold and steel, uttered with a voice to match the roar of a raging ocean, bright and terrible. Here, now, was the first time he had been permitted to converse with Tenken, to sit beside him as he was now, and survey the world that surrounded them.

Though, in truth, they had so far done more surveying than conversing. Tenken was a being of few words - and Komamura was content with that, finding little need to speak himself. They could read each other well enough without the hassle of words.

Indeed, in the wake of Tenken's voice comes that strange stillness once more, the ringing silence after the rumbling tones of the storm, but it is a filling quiet, and it is enough to content both of them for the while. And the world spreads out around them, a great flat expanse of land, though stranger scenery would be difficult to find. To the right of Komamura a pallor of smoke drifts, and distant flames can be seen dancing amid the darkness of a scarred place seemingly ravaged by a war, while to the left he could espy a range of rigid mountains, regal and proud in all their glory, offset and surrounded by gently sloping fields of green, rippling in a keen wind. However, in front and behind him were walls, great walls of gray stone worn by weather and age, framing the structure of a ruined fortress, perhaps once great in its time of wholeness. Littered around the entire area are bits and pieces of a story long forgotten - a broken pillar here, another severed wall there, the base of a monument long shattered and dusted into the ground. And then there is the sky, a huge stretching expanse above, utterly clear and dyed an absolute shade of the cleanest blue.

The silence unfurls and stretches, reaching out with leisurely fingers, seeping into everything, the wind and the grass, the smoke and the flames, the weary steadfastness of the ruins around them. And then, at length, when the silence has stretched itself as thin as the thinnest sheet of paper, on the verge of splitting into something almost awkward, Tenken speaks again, and the thunderstorm returns, shaking the ground to its roots.

"Seven," he says again, that sweet number of hope and victory, and his voice is content, as though deeply satisfied by the ring of each letter. "That is a good number," he continues, slowly. Deliberately. Another thing that Komamura cannot help but appreciate - the way Tenken utters each word as though it were a priceless jewel cupped in the palm of one's hand, precious, to be treated with all due respect and gentleness. "A number of fortune, I deem. It shall serve us well."

And the confidence underlying his words is such that Komamura finds it almost impossible to doubt.

Yet doubt he must. For the sake of his pride, if nothing else.

"The Captain's examination is to be initiated tomorrow, at dawn," he growls softly, contemplating such implications. "…It will be difficult."

"True, perhaps." That slightest, tremulant tenor amusement in Tenken's voice confirms Komamura's suspicion that the giant indeed knows his attempts at pessimism, for the sake of practicality. As well as the fact that he finds it needless. "But we shall pass it. This I know also. We shall pass it in greatness, you and I."

The silence takes wing once more, but now Tenken apparently does not want it to set flight quite so easily. After a mere few seconds he speaks once more, and now the laughter is unmistakable, a toll of distant bells amid the thunder.

"You doubt, Sajin."

It is not a question. It is a statement of knowing.

Komamura does not respond.

"Doubt is that which renders my armor weak, Sajin. Doubt of the purpose. Doubt of yourself. It is not becoming of us."

"…I know."

"Yet still, you doubt."

"…Yes."

"Hmmmmmmm…"

The rumor of an earthquake could be hinted at this point, and Komuamura instantly knew he was beginning to tread treacherous ground. Fur bristling ever so slightly, he reinforces his previous response with an explanation, now turning to face his companion for the first time, towering though Tenken was.

"A man without doubt is a man of arrogance. Is that not so?"

"That would depend on the nature of the doubt. There is doubt of the future, and that is liable, yes. But there is doubt of abilities to the point of degrading, and that I do not approve of, Sajin. That besides, you are no man in the end." And here the tones of Tenken's voice reach an almost indistinguishable pitch, as they had fallen so low. "You are more than a man, Sajin. You are more than your doubt."

The silence fluttered, terse, uneasy.

"…Doubt will not grant us the number of seven, Sajin. It gives us nothing but pain. And I am tired of pain. It chaffs the plating, and I have wearied of polishing, of mending." He paused. "You know this."

And as suddenly as the earthquake arrives, it is gone, leaving Komamura surprised and…strangely uplifted. Somehow or another, the simple wry amusement that lingered even now in Tenken's voice was enough to wipe away those final traces of uncertainty. And suddenly he finds that he can utter it, without catch, without…doubt…

"Yes. I know it well." He, too, paused, ever so briefly. "…The number seven would cure that, I imagine."

And the laughter finally erupts, gracing the air with the merry toll of a thousand bells, ringing, ringing.

"Perhaps, Sajin. Perhaps indeed. But the pain will not leave until you have revealed yourself to it. And you know this, too. In your heart."

This statement catches Komamura off guard, and he can only watch as Tenken then suddenly rises to his feet, reducing the earth to shuddering jelly, filling the air with the slides and clinks of the armor that shrouds him. Without another word the giant turns and marches off, silver and gold glinting like stars in the radiant sunlight, each step the small epilepsy of an erupting volcano, and Komamura looks on as his other half vanishes into the ruins and smoke of the war-torn land to his right, as though seeking to finish the battle and let the place heal at last.

And he sits there for a long while, the wind tugging gently on his fur, playing with his whiskers, and at length he sighs, the intake of breath wistful, as he considers that day, the one Tenken had indicated.

The day he would muster the courage to show himself, and face truly against his pain.

"Maybe…someday…but even should the number seven become mine, I…not yet, I fear…not yet…"

He was not ready to face the pain. Not now. But when that time would come, he was sure that Tenken would be there, towering at his shoulder, guarding his back every step of the way.

And he was content with that.

A/N: Well, there you go! As with Soifon, I'm not exactly familiar with Komamura either - heck, I'd like to meet someone who is, from what I've seen of him so far - but hopefully I was somewhere on the right track with this one. I rather like the way Tenken came out, fortunately, so I think I did alright with him.

Uhm…on another note…this is rather embarrassing, really, but…though this may sound like a whiny advertiser or whatever…another oneshot piece that I recently submitted to the Bleach section, entitled Secundum Nex, hasn't been getting any review love lately. At all, for that matter. T.T That particular one was revolving around a particularly stubborn plot bunny that I had attempted to get rid of, but with no responses whatsoever the bugger is still dancing around in my head…bugging me. I don't know what I might have done wrong, but I really would like to know - at least for the sake of terminating that irritating little rabbit. -.- So, to anyone that might be interested…some feedback would be very, very nice… o.o' Man, that was definitely too whiny…

Back on topic, let those credits roll!!

As a whole, I'd like to sincerely thank D R A G O N L I L I E S, hu3long2, Mortimerscross, Moonrise31, St Kitsune (inspirational well), wisdom-jewel, kimi108909, and Volital for all of your wonderful reviews and nourishing support!! :D You know I love you guys! Heck, I'd give more customized thanks, but there's so many of you that I'd end up being repetitive, so…I can only display my gratitude as such. Just know that you all deserve a thousand times more for giving me your time and feedback!! :)

So, till next time, I depart once more to do…well…whatever it is I'm going to do after this, I guess…