Chapter 13: Ashisogi Jizo
Green fumes rose into the air, poisonous to anyone who dared to breathe it. The rigged walls of its world were wet with slime, and the ooze dripped down slowly to the damp floor. Holes in the ground opened and closed whenever they felt like it, sometimes belching out the toxic smoke, and sometimes letting out nothing. The chemicals in its world would have been hazardous to anyone other than itself. To others, it could tear them from the inside out, or simply make their body explode in a second. It could, perhaps, melt one's organs one by one until he or she died, or maybe cause blood to leak out of their mouth and ears until their dry body shriveled up. It could do many terrible things, many deadly ways to go. The air itself would kill anyone who dared to enter its world, except for itself, of course. What would be the point of its amazing security system if it killed itself in the meantime?
It gently floated around its world, its feet barely touching the ground as it bobbed up and down in the air. Its wide clear eyes didn't miss a thing, and its sensitive hearing could catch a mouse breathing from a mile away. Not that there were any mice in its world. It should probably feel honored to have to such superhuman senses, but in no way did it feel happy about it. Rightfully, it shouldn't have amazing eyes and ears. Rightfully, it should have simply been a butterfly, there to help and protect its wielder. But the evil Mayuri Kurotsuchi had not been satisfied with a simple green-and-blue insect as his zanpakuto. He had altered its appearance into something horrifying, a creature half-butterfly and half-human. He had given it awesome powers, and amazing sight and incredible hearing. He had experimented on his own zanpakuto.
And as his zanpakuto, Ashisogi Jizo could not say a thing that would suggest it were disloyal to its wielder. A zanpakuto obeyed his wielder's every command, and that was the end of it. That was the rule Mayuri had drilled into it, and that was the rule it followed. It followed that rule without question, but the true law it wanted to sustain was: a zanpakuto could never go against its wielder, and the wielder could never go against its zanpakuto. It was unfortunate that that was the rule Mayuri spat upon and ignored. Ashisogi Jizo couldn't even remember the innocent form it had once had. Mayuri had done it much wrong, and he even admitted it. But it couldn't very well turn against him, could it? After all, doing so would be breaking the rule.
Ashisogi Jizo flew up to one sticky wall of his world, and prodded it with one hand. When it inspected its fingers, it nodded, satisfied that the paralyzing goo was still working. It then shook off the substance and continued on, checking to make sure that all of its security systems were in complete order. Once it was sure that everything was working perfectly, it did what it did every day to pass the time. It hung in midair, and waited. While it waited, it thought. It thought about what life would be like if its wielder wasn't so… insane. If Mayuri had been normal, it would still be a perfectly happy butterfly, flitting around in its poisonous world. But Mayuri was not normal, and that was why Ashisogi Jizo was now in the form of a hideous human baby with wings. Ashisogi Jizo was always honest with itself. It hated its wielder very much, and that was the truth. But another thing that was the truth was the fact that it couldn't leave. It would have to serve the mad scientist Shinigami until the day it died. The whole situation was honestly quite sad.
Ashisogi Jizo blinked its wide eyes twice, and then twitched its head slightly. There was nothing to do in this world but think of all the wrongs Mayuri had done to it. And even that got boring, eventually. No matter… the day would soon be over and Ashisogi Jizo would fall asleep. Only to wake up to another depressing day, that is. But sleeping was fun. Sleeping was what it looked forward to most. However, right now, it got the oddest feeling that it wouldn't be sleeping tonight. This feeling worried it. Something bad was about to happen, and it didn't like bad things. Something had gotten into his world, and was unaffected by the poisons that served as security. And that meat that this something was powerful. Even more powerful than Mayuri, perhaps. Ashisogi Jizo shuddered mentally at the very thought of anything being more powerful than its wielder.
But, there was nothing else to do. So he it there, and waited for the something to appear. While it waited, it wondered what the something could be. Surely another zanpakuto, for only zanpakuto could go into a Shinigami's inner world. But Ashisogi Jizo had never gotten a visitor- everyone else was too scared that they'd die as soon as they entered its world, and they were actually quite right, so it couldn't exactly blame them. This zanpakuto, however, was clearly not dead. Ashisogi Jizo could sense its presence, and it was still there, well and alive. Was this stranger zanpakuto immune to poison, perhaps? Ashisogi Jizo had never heard of such a thing, unless Mayuri Kurotsuchi had given someone else his special anti-poison concoction. But that was more than unlikely.
Ashisogi Jizo was just thinking about who it could be, when a voice it'd never heard before sounded. "My, my. You're certainly not quite what I'd expected."
A man had suddenly appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. The bottom half of his face was buried into his thickly furred collar, and his dirty brown hair lay as a mess on his head. His body shifted slightly, snuggling into his large coat. Gleaming red eyes burned into Ashisogi Jizo, and then he spoke again. "I heard from long ago that Ashisogi Jizo was an innocent colorful butterfly. However, your current appearance says otherwise. A human infant with large moth's wings. How… intriguing."
Ashisogi Jizo stared at him, wondering what exactly the man meant. This stranger must be very old to know what it had used to look like. It didn't say anything in return, mainly because there was nothing to say.
"Your wielder is Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the mad scientist of Sereitei. He must have been the one to alter your appearance. To experiment on your own zanpakuto… surely a crime in any law, yes?"
Ashisogi Jizo still didn't say anything. It just waited to hear what the man had to say. Surely this man could not have come simply for a peaceful chat. He must have come here for a reason.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here," The man continued, as though he had read its thoughts. "And I will tell you. But first I must introduce myself. My name is Muramasa, and I, too, am a zanpakuto disrespected by his wielder. In fact, I hated him so much… I killed him."
If he was expecting Ashisogi Jizo to have a reaction, he was certainly disappointed. What did it care if there was one less Shinigami in the world? As a matter of fact, it commended Muramasa for having the guts to kill his wielder. Ashisogi Jizo surely could never do that, because doing so would be going against the rule.
"And I am here to invite you to my army. My zanpakuto army. I have gone around taking in zanpakuto who have been mistreated and neglected, much like you. And once my army is complete, we shall all attack the Shinigami. They will never know what hit them. Their own weapons against them. And when we've won, we will take over them. The Shinigami's era will end, and in place of it, the zanpakuto's will begin." Muramasa explained.
Ashisogi Jizo had to admit, this man had big ideas. Taking over the Shinigami? It certainly sounded exciting, but the whole thing was impossible. Not to mention it was against the rule. It shook its head slowly. It wanted no part of this, especially when the whole thing would blow up in Muramasa's face.
"No?" Muramasa sounded genuinely surprised. "Really, Ashisogi Jizo? I… I thought that you would be more than willing to come with me. Considering what your wielder has done to you, I'm surprised that that you would want to spend another second in this place."
Of course Ashisogi Jizo hated it here. It hated that there was nothing to do, it hated that it had been changed from something innocent to something horrible, and above all it hated its wielder and everything he did. But it couldn't leave. It could never leave its world. So it shook its head again.
"Are you sure? If this is about that ridiculous rule your wielder has drilled into you, than I can do nothing more then urge you to ignore it. I know you must hate him with all your heart, because there is no doubt that he is a terrible man, so please, come with me. Join my army, Ashisogi Jizo, and together we can take revenge on him. All the wrongs he has done to you… why, you can take revenge for all of them. Be honest with yourself. Do you want to join, or don't you?"
Revenge on Mayuri Kurotsuchi? That certainly sounded tempting. Everything horrible that Mayuri had done on it, it could get back at him for. Ashisogi Jizo was always honest with itself. It wanted to go with Muramasa, and join the zanpakuto army. This strange man was right- who cared about the rule? Just ignore it, and go. But… for some weird reason… it couldn't bring itself to agree. It didn't know why, but it couldn't say yes. It shook its head yet again.
This time, however, Muramasa didn't believe him. "Are you lying to me? Ashisogi Jizo, I can tell that with all your heart you want to come with me. So why don't you? If you're worried about how all the other zanpakuto will react to your appearance, I can assure you that none of them are rude on purpose. And eventually they will get used to it. You want to join, so join. Come on."
Ashisogi Jizo was impressed. This man was certainly an excellent judge of character. Yes, it wanted to join. So why didn't it join? Was it out of loyalty to Mayuri? Surely not. It hated Mayuri. So join. Join the army, and take revenge. Why not? But something was still holding it back from nodding. It couldn't tell what, though. Not loyalty to Mayuri, absolutely not. Natural zanpakuto loyalty? Every zanpakuto had loyalty built into them, after all. Did all the other zanpakuto before it deal with this sort of hesitation? Most likely.
"Well, Ashisogi Jizo? What are you waiting for?"
Ashisogi Jizo began to nod, but then it froze. It sighed mentally. All it had to do was nod. So why couldn't it nod? It thought the whole thing over again. Mayuri had illegally experimented on his own zanpakuto, and changed Ashisogi Jizo's entire appearance. He had never shown any compassion towards anyone. His whole life he had done wrong. He had even wound up in the Maggot's Nest. So why was Ashisogi Jizo hesitating? Ashisogi Jizo let in a deep but silent breath, and then exhaled it. And then, it nodded.
Muramasa smiled grimly. "So you'll join?"
It nodded again. Yes, it would join. Sure, it would meet all the other zanpakuto. But most importantly, it would take revenge. It would finally break away from Mayuri's hold, and take revenge on him. How… exciting.
Muramasa outstretched his hand, and gently touched Ashisogi Jizo. Immediately, the two of them were traveling through a long bright tunnel, the light nearly blinding Ashisogi Jizo because of his amazing eyesight. It ducked its head, trying to ignore the brightness. When the world around it became dark again, it glanced up, and found itself in an underground cave. Glancing around, it could see nearly every speck of dirt, and then its gaze settled on a staircase leader down. It slowly approached it, looking down. A dim light seemed to be coming from the room below, and that was most likely where the other zanpakuto were.
Muramasa nudged it, and nodded at the staircase. "Why don't you go down? Everyone else is there. I'm afraid I can't go with you, though. I must meet up with Zabimaru, now."
Ashisogi Jizo glanced at him, and then proceeded to fly down the stairs. It hoped the other zanpakuto liked it. It did need a friend. A loud snapping noise sounded behind it, and it assumed that meant Muramasa had left. Finally, it arrived at the bottom room, and was surprised by the number of the other zanpakuto. Certainly more then it had expected.
All the others were staring at Ashisogi Jizo, making it feel slightly uncomfortable. Were they afraid of it? A large dark-skinned ogre approached it, glaring sternly down. "You must be Ashisogi Jizo. Welcome, I suppose. My name is Hozukimaru."
Ashisogi Jizo nodded. It then looked at the other zanpakuto, waiting for them to introduce themselves. It was a large group, and it was somewhat eager to learn everyone else's names.
A cat-human hybrid stretched, and then looked at it in a sleepy way. "Hello. I'm Haineko. Nice to meet you."
A loud cackle interrupted her, and a black demon that seemed to have come out of nowhere declared, "The name's Kazeshini."
"My name is Sode no Shirayuki. It is a pleasure to meet you." A beautiful white lady greeted it. Ashisogi Jizo found itself envying her good looks, while it was a hideous half-and-half.
A fairy suddenly zipped all around him, chirping out a greeting. "I'm Suzumebachi. Glad you decided to come."
A thin man holding two heavy objects said in a low voice, "My name is Wabisuke. Pleasure."
"I am Tobiume. Greetings." A small girl said.
"Katen Kyokotsu." A tall woman with purple hair nodded bluntly.
Two silver-haired boys, most likely twins, suddenly appeared in front of Ashisogi Jizo, and introduced themselves as Sogy-chan and Koto-chan.
"Wow, you look funny." Sogyo commented.
"Yeah, why do you look so weird?" Kotowari asked.
Ashisogi Jizo probably should have been insulted, but it didn't. Maybe because it knew it looked weird, or maybe because the two were only kids. It didn't really matter. It turned to a man in samurai armor, and waited for him to introduce himself.
"I am Senbonzakura."
"And I am Hyorinmaru." A green-haired man with an X-shaped scar on his face standing next to Senbonzakura said.
"My name is Ruri'iro Kujaku. A pleasure to meet you." A man with bandages wrapped around his head, and feathers on his arms, greeted him.
"So that's everyone," Hozukimaru grunted. "Hope you enjoy it here."
Ashisogi Jizo nodded slowly, and then floated away to a far-off corner. Maybe it would enjoy it here, with all the other zanpakuto, but that wasn't why it had come. The point was, it wanted revenge. And Mayuri Kurotsuchi would regret the day he'd ever received Ashisogi Jizo as a zanpakuto.