Chapter 3: Kazeshini

The wind howled eerily through the empty darkness. The shadowed trees rustled. The black mountains rumbled. The clouded sky thundered. Lightning flashed; a storm was coming. From high up, on the top of the tallest mountain, a figure shrieked with delight. A demonic screech of pure joy. Storms were one of his favorite things. It meant his wielder was feeling troubled. And when his partner was troubled, the barrier he put up between himself and his zanpakuto was weakened. And when the barrier was weakened, that gave Kazeshini more of a chance to escape.

The demon cackled as rain blew down. He liked the rain. He liked the thunder. He liked the lightning. He liked the mountains on which he lived. He liked his dual weapons, the kusarigama. Sure, he liked them all. But what he longed for was freedom. A zanpakuto receives a taste of freedom each time they are released, but every time afterwards their Shinigami would simply seal them again. He was unlucky. He loved to fight, and to feel his blades slicing through the enemy's flesh. But he had received a total coward as a wielder. He remembered feeling the frown his Shinigami had bore when he had first released him. He had frowned back. From the moment his partner had held him in his hands, he had known it. Kazeshini knew a lot of things about his partner, but the one thing he knew and hated the most, was the fact that Shuuhei Hisagi was scared of his own zanpakuto.

Of course Kazeshini wanted to be feared. He wanted everyone to know that he was the strongest and the best. He wanted everyone to cower in fear in front of him. He wanted a partner who could release him without a second thought, and upon sight everyone would know that their life would soon be over. But of course, he got no such things. He wasn't feared, because no one knew him. Only one person feared him, and he was the only one whom Kazeshini wanted to like him.

"Of course, it's just my luck." He sneered to himself. But he had to admit, even though Hisagi was terribly frightened of him, he did know how to use his Shikai pretty well. Of course, however, Kazeshini could do it better.

The rain was getting heavier. The thunder was unusually loud, and the lightning was almost blinding. Kazeshini was drenched, but he didn't bother to go looking for one of the many caves his home in the mountains bore. He stood tall and straight, grinning madly. "Hisagi must be in a real bad mood for it to get this bad here." He lifted his head up high and barked, "Oi, Hisagi! You're gettin' me soaked, here! Keep this up and I just might get out. If you're so scared of me, then you wouldn't want that, would ya?"

But the rain just kept on coming.

"Alright then, you big coward! Today's the day I get outta here!" Kazeshini declared. He readied himself, and then instantly sprung up, sailing to an extraordinary height, only to crash into an invisible wall. This, however, did not stop him. Smirking, he held out his hands, and his chained weapons materialized into them. "Take this!" He smashed the one in his right hand into the barrier, and then the left one.

The wall seemed to tremble for a moment, and his grin became wider, but suddenly, the barrier solidified. His grin disappeared. Around him, the rain was beginning to let up, and the thunder and lightning had disappeared.

Angrily, he attempted to slice open the barrier with his weapons, each strike becoming more and more powerful. "No! Open this up, you stupid scaredy-cat! I was so close this time, and then you decide to get better? Open!"

This had seemed to be the closest he'd ever gotten to escaping. The wall had actually shook. The storm had been the worst he'd ever seen. Hisagi must have been in a terrible mood. But then the barrier had strengthened. Hisagi had cheered up. "Come on! What, did you get yourself a girlfriend? Did she comfort you? No girl wants a coward as a date!"

After ten minutes of trying to destroy the barrier, Kazeshini finally accepted it. When Hisagi was in a good mood, it was plain impossible to try to open up the passageway out. The demon spat angrily and returned to his perch on the highest mountain. "Damn it."

Kazeshini hated his master. Hisagi never talked to him, never released him, never tried anything with him! Hell, Hisagi even complained about the shape of his stupid Shikai! Nonsense about being afraid of your own zanpakuto. So why was it that everyone else constantly released their weapons? It was all because of that damn Suzumushi and his partner. Kazeshini had never liked Suzumushi. That fat old slug always made an irritating chirping sound whenever he talked. What was he, a bird? And of all the rubbish that he could have talked about, he talked about peace and kindness and treating everyone equally.

"Everyone's not equal to each other, you stupid moron!" Kazeshini yelled, even though he knew full well that there was no way Suzumushi could hear him. "This world is divided by the strong and the weak! There is no equal. And there's absolutely no damn way that you can expect me to treat my coward of a wielder as my equivalent!"

"If the world is divided by the strong and the weak, then which one are you?"

Kazeshini stiffened as he heard the calm, deep voice behind him. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, and then he grinned as he realized he could have some fun with this trespasser. He would toy with the man, and then kill him.

"I'm the stronger part of this world," He replied, no longer yelling. "And I will demolish any weakling who gets in my way." He whirled around, calling upon his weapons as he did so. "And that includes you, you filthy trespasser."

The man staring back at him was nothing he had expected. Red eyes met his blue ones. Pale skin in contrast to his shadowy color. Short black hair, as opposed to his long dark hair. "I am Muramasa."

"I don't give a damn on who you are." Kazeshini replied as he brandished his deadly weapons. "All I know is that you're not supposed to be here. And since you aren't supposed to be here, I'm allowed to kill you."

Without giving the strange man a chance to speak again, he leapt up, throwing down his right weapon as he did so. But with startling speed, the man dodged, leaving the blade to sink deeply into the ground. Kazeshini frowned as he tugged back his chain, resulting in him landing beside his sunken weapon. With little to no difficulty, he pulled out the heavy blade and eyed the man warily.

"I have no intention of fighting you." Muramasa said, a few meters in front of Kazeshini. "I want only to talk."

"Well I don't." Kazeshini spat in return before lashing out his left blade.

Again, the man moved incredibly fast, this time appearing a bit to the right. "I can see that you are angry and upset. You've always been this way. Why is that?"

"It's none of your business!" Kazeshini growled. Who was this man who simply barged into his home and began asking questions? He had no right! Plus, he was annoying. Kazeshini tended to kill anyone who was annoying.

"It's because of how your master has treated you, isn't it?"

"That coward can never be considered my master!"

"I see. He's frightened of you, his own zanpakuto. That itself is pitiful, in my terms. I can understand why you feel so resentful to him. I would too, if my own wielder had abandoned me. That is, of course, if I were a zanpakuto." Muramasa said.

Kazeshini advanced dangerously, but the man barely blinked. The zanpakuto scoffed in annoyance and snarled, "Do you think I'm like some little puppy dog? Whimpering and crying because my owner doesn't like me? Well guess what? I'm not! I don't care about him! He can go to hell for all I care."

"I never said anything about you being a dog. I have no idea where you got that idea. May I ask you a question?"

"Che! You think you can just walk right in here and start talking to me about my own personal life? I don't have time for this! Leave, 'cause if I lose my patience, you might lose your life."

"You don't have time for this? In all honesty, I believe you have all the time in the world. After all, how often are you released, anyways?"

"You annoy me. People who annoy me usually die."

"Is that all you can do? Try to scare me with threats of death? Kazeshini, I am not afraid of death."

Kazeshini growled furiously. "Yeah? Well then you shouldn't be afraid of this!" He threw out his blades simultaneously, both spinning towards the man. But much to his annoyance, Muramasa didn't flinch. He simply stood there as the weapons whirled closer and closer.

Finally, at the last moment, Muramasa held out a sword that seemed to have come from nowhere. He pointed it so that the tip was facing the coming weapons, and then in a few swift movements he had gently knocked aside both blades, hooked the chain with his sword, and pinned it to the ground. The twin weapons lay flat, and Muramasa's sword was standing straight and victorious.

"Now will you listen to me?" Muramasa asked.

Kazeshini narrowed his eyes, trying to ignore the strange feeling bubbling up inside of him. Was this fear? Impossible. In all his life, Kazeshini had never felt fear. But… who was this man who showed no emotion? Deciding that he would probably find out more if he listened, he grunted to show he would let the man speak.

"It seems to me, that all zanpakuto are nothing more than servants to their master's bidding. They call your name, and you appear. To them, you are nothing more than weapons used to slay Hollows and perform konso. When have they ever shown you the respect you deserve? That is why I have decided to act. I am going around to each of the zanpakuto, and will ask for their alliance. I am building a team, and once the team is complete, we will attack the Shinigami. And when we attack, the Shinigami will have no chance of winning, for how can they fight back without the use of their sword? And once we have won, we will be the ones ruling over the Shinigami. Their reign over the zanpakuto is over; we shall prevail."

Kazeshini cocked his head to one side as he contemplated this. The plan sounded very appealing. He could finally be free, and get his revenge on Hisagi. It was like killing two birds with one stone. All he had to do was accept this man's offer, and he could finally leave this horrible dark prison. But he had to know one thing. "And what's in it for you? It's not like you'd be doing all this just to let us zanpakuto be free. What do you get from it?"

"I only ask for one thing." Muramasa replied. "To be your leader."

The zanpakuto almost burst out laughing. "You? Be our leader? Hell will freeze over before I let you boss me around. I don't even listen to Hisagi!"

"I will not, as you say, 'boss you around'. What I mean by leader, is that I will simply direct attacks, and perhaps talk to the Shinigami. I will not ask you to serve me like a king."

Kazeshini still felt skeptical. It was possible this could all be a trick… but then again, who cared? Something exciting was finally going to happen to him! But if this was a trick, who knows what might come out of it? As much as he hated to admit it, Muramasa was good enough to rival his skills, maybe he was even better than the zanpakuto.

"Will you come with me, Kazeshini?"

He'd wanted this all along. He'd wanted for the longest time to be free and to scare the crap out of Hisagi. Before he could think twice, Kazeshini put on a cocky grin and said, "Damn right I will."

Something gleamed in Muramasa's eye, but it quickly disappeared as he said, "Excellent. Now then, if you accept, I will transport us to where the other zanpakuto are currently resting."

"The other zanpakuto? How many did you see before me?" Kazeshini had assumed he'd been the first one, but clearly not.

"Only two others. Haineko and Sode no Shirayuki. Do you know them?"

"Only by rumor. That lazy cat and the supposed 'prettiest zanpakuto around'."

"Yes, that would be them." Muramasa approached him, and held out his hand towards him. "I must warn you: the previous two found the experience of transporting quite unpleasant. I advise you to brace yourself."

Kazeshini fought the instinct to back away from the freakishly long fingernails, and stood still as they brushed his forehead. Suddenly, he was standing in a long bright tunnel, moving at an amazing speed. He had expected the worst, but other than a slight churning in his stomach, there was nothing dreadfully wrong with the ride. Of course the girls would be so delicate. Still, when they arrived a cool, damp cavern, he was surprised to find himself sweating. Growling silently, he shook it off and glanced at Muramasa.

"I am glad to see that you did not find the teleportation troubling." Muramasa said, although his blank face said otherwise. He turned to a narrow staircase, and began to go down it. "Follow me. I believe you should get yourself acquainted to the other two."

Kazeshini waited for a few moments, and then followed, heading down the stairs quickly. The downstairs was nothing special. A few ledges off the cliffs, a small table in a flat clearing, a small lake. Not quite what he'd expected, but still dark and homey.

"Back already, Muramasa?" A soft voice sounded.

The dark demon froze. That voice sent shivers down his spine, and he had no idea why. A lady dressed in pure white approached them, blue eyes shining warmly and a kind smile on her lips.

"Yes. I have successfully recruited Kazeshini." Muramasa replied, gesturing to the zanpakuto beside him.

Kazeshini nodded uncomfortably. Something about the woman made him wary, but he couldn't quite say what.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kazeshini. I'm glad you have decided to join us. I am Sode no Shirayuki."

"I kinda figured." Kazeshini said bluntly.

Sode no Shirayuki didn't give any indication that she had picked up his rude tone, and said, "There must be a reason why you have decided to come. Haineko joined because she felt her partner was too bothering. I came because my wielder betrayed me. What about you?"

"He's too much of a coward. Too big of a scaredy-cat for my liking." Kazeshini shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant. "Hell, he's even scared of me."

"Oh, that must be hard for you." Sode no Shirayuki said sympathetically.

"I don't need any pity." He snapped.

"Hey, cool it there, Shadow." A new voice chimed in. A cat-human hybrid popped up beside Sode no Shirayuki, a frown on her face. "You don't have to be so harsh to her."

"I'll be whatever I want." He retorted. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Please, you two, there's no need to argue." Sode no Shirayuki nudged Haineko gently as her friend opened her mouth for a swift retort. "We should all learn to be friends."

"She is right. You will all be family for a very long time, so you might as well get used to each other." Muramasa said. He turned to Kazeshini. "I think I will be taking my leave now. There are plenty other zanpakuto I must speak to."

"Yeah, you go do that." Kazeshini replied. Why was this man telling him this? He couldn't care less.

"Who're you going to see this time, Muramasa?" Haineko asked.

"I think that now I will meet the stingy princess." Muramasa replied as he began to climb back up the stairs. "Suzumebachi."

"Ha!" Kazeshini barked with laughter. "Suzumebachi? She-!"

A loud snap cut him off, and Haineko laughed. "Looks like he didn't want to deal with you anymore! That noise means he left. You must really be unlikable- usually Muramasa's really patient with us."

Kazeshini frowned and turned away. Muramasa's deal with him hadn't said anything about dealing with an immature zanpakuto. He waited, and heard Haineko walking away, and then Sode no Shirayuki. Only then did he mutter,

"Suzumebachi is nothing but a feisty fairy. Good luck there, Muramasa."