Disclaimer: To be honest, it's probably pointless to even put one in here by now, as any respectable fan fiction writer would already probably know the drill word for word…

"So this is…the normal state?"

"That's the general idea."

"Really…?"

"Yup."

"…"

"…"

"Ahh, man. You'd think someone would have at least had the decency to tell me…"

"Tell you what?"

"That I'm mentally unbalanced, that's what. I mean, look at this place!"

"Is that a slight to me or a slight to yourself?"

"Does it matter?"

"…Probably not. I'm you and you're me, so yes…I guess that's really a moot point."

"Ne…fair enough. But still…this can't be healthy, can it?"

"I wouldn't know. I suppose you currently are feeling healthy, though - otherwise we'd both be floundering in that ocean over there by now. Not a pleasant experience, I can tell you. I may not look like it would bother me, but it really does hurt if you hit the water hard enough…"

"That's not what I meant."

A grin.

"I know."

And Kaien Shiba cannot help but grin back despite himself.

Really, every shinigami should be authorized to at least be somewhat smug about their zanpakuto spirit. Pride was surely an authorized sensation, though, of course, every sensei in the Academy would always go on about 'humility' and how it would take 'many, many years of bonding and communication before you should go about feeling good about it' and other things to that extent. Not that Kaien really cared either way. He'd be proud if he wanted to be proud, dammit. And he had certainly gotten off quite nicely - he knew many a student out there that had ended up with something rather undesirable that in fact truly did reflect the nature of themselves…whatever the hell all that meant. In basic, understandable lingo, there were people out there that had despicable monsters for zanpakuto.

So yes, he considered himself very fortunate, as well as almost giddily happy that the true essence of his soul did, in fact, have good looks, a relatively respectable height, and a very healthy sense of humor.

He could tell that himself and Nejibana would be getting along quite well in the years to come.

Getting a good look at the said zanpakuto spirit - this was his first face-to-face encounter with the guy, besides - Kaien was able to assess several things about Nejibana. Firstly, and mainly, that he was a happy kind of person.

The cheerfulness and goodwill seemed to roll off the man in waves, really - almost in a similar manner to the cloak Nejibana was sporting, a cloak woven of what Kaien could have sworn was water. It billowed and swirled and rippled down Nejibana's shoulders, encasing him in a protective liquid shroud that flickered in the pale sunlight, sometimes a deep navy blue, other times flecked with undertones of emerald and sapphire and even touches of storm-gray and dark violet. At the hems, where the cloak tapered off at his heels, the water changed, swirling and fizzling into silver vapor that coiled skyward, forming small clouds and incense-worthy patterns of mist that dissolved after a few seconds of existence.

Despite this dark and rather unusual shroud, however, it was still obvious that Nejibana was a being of benevolence, a person you could trust. The relaxed way in which he held himself, leaning slightly to one side as though casually balanced on the ball of one foot, and the easy smile on his face…all of these things seemed to say it all.

There wasn't much else to describe about Nejibana, apart from that fact. His hair was wavy, a lighter shade of blue than his watery cloak, and his skin was pale as the white collar of his cloak, equally stark against the dark coloring of his uniform. If anything, he looked like a rather unshaven middle-aged man, sporting rimless lime-green sunglasses that made it difficult to pick out the color of his eyes.

Kaien decided that, as he had predicted, he liked this guy.

Nejibana returned his surveying stare thoughtfully, before his grin widened even more.

"That's one heck of a stare you're giving me." His voice was lighthearted as well, on another note. Pleasantly low in pitch, but quirked in humor. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I'd have thought you would already know them." Kaien arched an eyebrow.

"I represent your heart, not the workings of your brain." The spirit made a jest of being offended. "Can't I be allowed to even have an interest in what you're thinking, at least? This is the first non-one-sided-conversation I've had in - well - that I've ever had, actually."

If Kaien hadn't known better, he would have almost thought that the bemused look on Nejibana's face was genuine. As such, the façade was rendered useless. "Well, if you're really that eager to know, I'm just getting an eyeful of you. Wondering whether or not I'm actually mentally unstable."

"Oh, come now, you're not still going on about the…erm…condition…of this place…are you?" An awkward wave of an arm, lifted from the folds of the robe - beneath the cloak, it seemed, Nejibana wore black, some kind of suit, maybe, coupled with black pants. The glimpse was fleeting, however, as the arm was soon lowered, hiding everything else in curtains of water once more.

"I wasn't talking about here." Kaien allowed his grin to widen even more in return. "I was talking about you."

"Oh, that hurts. That really, really does." Nejibana folded his arms, then tilted his head ever so slightly, almost mischievously. "Such a tactless person, you are. I wouldn't be surprised if Miyako decided to drop you for some other shinigami with better looks and manners, eh?"

And now Kaien flushed - vividly, much to Nejibana's delight.

"Oi, that's not even funny! Take that back, you bastard!"

"Not a chance on this side of the pinnacle, my friend - unless you want to prove yourself?" A full-out smile graced Nejibana's features. He laughed, his arms suddenly at his sides, legs tensed. "Well then, catch me if you can!"

And then, before Kaien could so much as blink, the man was gone in a flurry of navy, a swirl of white vapor.

…Jumping away…

"Hey! …HEY! Get back here, you!"

And Kaien pursued.

His inner world, now - Kaien wasn't so sure as to what he thought about that. Sure, it might have been alright given different…alignments, perhaps. If you looked at it the normal way, you would have found yourself beholding a huge expanse of endless, restless ocean, iron gray and choppy. The sky stretching out above was almost similar in color, sporting an overcast of clouds - though, currently, these clouds were being shot through by almost ethereal columns of pale sunlight, prying between the iron folds of frozen mist and touching the land below with a tentative sort of certainty that rumored a clearer day tomorrow. And sprouting from the surface of this ocean were huge…huge…pinnacles of obsidian, weathered stone, stone that reached up and up and up, getting thinner all the while and eventually tapering off into a blunt sort of point at the top. The towers were everywhere, filling the area in no particular pattern, and if you looked to the left or right they simply stretched off into the distance with the ocean.

Yes, if you looked at it that way, it was really pretty acceptable.

But the problem…the problem was that, strangely enough, a person would find it impossible to look at this place in such a manner.

Because it was tilted…completely sideways…

…Which made for a totally odd, almost alien environment, and also made Kaien wonder whether or not there was something wrong with his way of thinking - or feeling, whichever sufficed.

And, in short, the true description when you applied the…dimensions…of the area…was utterly different.

The pinnacles of rock became the equivalent of wide, isolated sidewalks that stretched out to the left, towards the sky…which was also on the left, clouds and all, complete with the rays of sunlight, which shown down at a…a parallel angle…and, to the right, there was a distant but solid wall of shifting water that by all means ought to be spilling over this way, because that had been the law of physics when Kaien had last checked…and yet it wasn't, leaving a person feeling very alarmed and uptight over the whole manner, due to the fact that you kept on getting this nagging feeling that the frozen-yet-moving body of towering water might suddenly and inexplicably melt at any given moment and drown you in its probably-extremely-icy-cold abyss.

Despite the strange surroundings, however, Nejibana seemed perfectly at home - though that was probably a given, really. The man leaped from pinnacle sidewalk to pinnacle sidewalk, the long leaps and agile landings easy and relaxed, his watery cloak rippling out impressively behind him, and his speed was such that he could even find time to glance back over his shoulder and cast Kaien a taunting grin every few seconds.

At length, though, he suddenly stopped, the glee fading on his face as he instead waited for Kaien to catch up. Inerrant rage dying down somewhat beneath the somber expression of his counterpart, Kaien paused a few feet away, unsure of what to think.

It was Nejibana that spoke first, and though the mirth was still there, in his voice, it was thin and fleeting beneath his sudden visage of seriousness.

"…You're alright, perhaps. But you're not nearly fast enough. Or strong enough."

Kaien returned the statement with another quirking of his eyebrow. "But I'm quick to temper."

Almost to his relief, that smile returned again, very small and brief, but there all the same.

"Yes, that's true."

"Gotta be a good sign."

"Wouldn't be good in battle."

"Can't help that."

"…No. You can't." Nejibana had the decency to look somewhat amused, at least. Then his serious guise returned. "We're still going to have to try, though. We're going to have to push the limits. If you really want to accomplish this goal of yours."

Kaien smiled, again. "I thought you said you couldn't read my thoughts."

"I don't need to. Your will for it to be accomplished has haunted this place for quite a while, and it has yet to go away."

"Che, should've known that…"

"It's a pretty outrageous thing to aim for."

"But it's worth every try."

They gazed at each other evenly for a moment - they were both the exact same height, permitting eye-to-eye contact.

"…I'll help you, then. I'll teach you what I know, as the need comes. And I'll stay with you even after death if I have to."

Another moment of silence. Which was then effectively ruined.

"Aw, come on. Don't get all sappy like that." And here Kaien looked fairly exasperated. "You sound like some sort of angsty hero from those western books Miyako's so fond of…and by the powers I still fail to understand what she sees in those things…"

Nejibana was then truly surprised by the sudden change of tone…but he followed along anyway, laughing.

"We may never truly unlock the mystery that is the woman," he intoned solemnly. "But, I wish you luck in that matter."

"Eh, what's with that off-hand tone of yours?"

"Well, it's not like I'll be affected if you somehow make a stupid mistake and the girl breaks up with you…"

"Oh, for God's sake, what is it with you and Miyako?! Do you actually enjoy writing up worse-case scenarios for me?"

"A person should never get too hopeful. I'm just dampening your ego somewhat, so that it doesn't get completely crushed on the fateful day…"

"Dampening my ass! You enjoy doing it, don't you?! Come on, admit it already! We've gotta learn something about each other in a first encounter with a zanpakuto, so just spit it out, dammit!"

Reflecting over the meeting later on, when Kaien had finally taken his leave, Nejibana could not help but feel almost giddily delighted over the fact that his counterpart could make such enjoyable company. It was so easy to provoke the boy, but he had a good head on his shoulders, and an iron will that would not be crushed - something that he'd known all along, admittedly, though it was nice to just be able to meet him in person, all the same.

A man that wanted nothing more than to be strong enough to protect those who could not protect themselves…

For, indeed, that was Kaien Shiba's goal, in the end. The goal that had pursued him from the Shiba household, the resolution that had guided him through the contours of the Academy in a single year. The decision that had brought Nejibana's name to his wielder's lips that fateful day.

For that, Nejibana would indeed follow Kaien into the abyss of death.

And he felt authorized to nurture some secret pride in that.

A/N: Yes, as you have probably already guessed, this theory has been niggling at the back of my noggin for quite some time now. :) I can say that I'm one of those people who overall support the reincarnation theory between Ichigo Kurosaki and Kaien Shiba, so you can take this chapter in any way you will…I'd love to hear some opinions on this matter.

…Yes, I know that Nejibana in fact means 'Twisted Flower' or something to that extent, but…erm…bear with me here, please…just bear with me. -looks around sheepishly- o.o'

On another note, I must say that I really liked Kaien Shiba during what little airtime he ever had. I really, really did. And to be honest, I also truly mourn over the fact that he's dead, because it's such a huge loss, really…he's such an interesting character. T.T I hope his characterization was a least plausible in this chapter, though it was rather difficult to work out due to the scarcity of his appearances, in between being a sad memory and an insane evil Arrancar in disguise. -.-

Anyways, I feel pretty good about this chapter. Did I mention that I suck at humor for the most part? If I haven't I apologize in advance if that aspect didn't come out too well. Nobody's perfect, I guess. D:

And in short, I must also apologize to most of you that might have reviewed last time for not replying back!! TT I'm really, truly sorry, but I haven't had any time to respond to them at all the previous week, and I've had to avoid the Internet due to erratic weather patterns, so…yeah. Again, so very sorry! O.O'

As such, in compensation, I must thank D R A G O N L I L I E S, DelMarch, kimi108909, Moonrise31, wisdom-jewel, HK-Revan, St. Kitsune twice-over (I've missed ya! Glad to see you're back!), and hu3long2 for your continued support! This fic would never have come this far without you guys!! :D

Hopefully I'll be able to update soon…but, until then, this chapter shalt now close. :)