Chapter 2: Unexpected Ally

Karakura Town

Hisana

I ran as fast as I could from my house into the residential area of town, sword and satchel in tow. Before I did anything else, I thought it best to try and meet up with Evelyn and my sister. Since Shinzo had been headed in the direction of Ms. Inoue's house, I figured I'd start there. I put my mother's necklace in my pocket and dashed through the streets. To my surprise, they were vacant. Maybe the appearance of that giant dark orb in the sky drove them away. Regardless, I was determined to meet with my friends. However, when I was around a block away from Inoue's house, I saw an enormous pillar of blue light burst skyward.

"YOU BASTARDS!" screamed a voice, followed by the familiar roar of at least a dozen hollows.

If Evelyn was upset about something, then it was imperative to calm her down immediately. When she gets mad, her rage is released in the form of demonic energy, usually blue hellfire. Judging by the size of the pillar that rose up a few moments ago, she was pretty damn mad. Calling forth my still nameless zanpakuto, I leapt over the fence and into the yard. Evelyn was surrounded by at dozens of hollows and strange white creatures without faces. My friend was surrounded by a blue aura, and her appearance had changed dramatically. The top half of her face was now hidden behind an eyeless skull mask, her regular clothing had disappeared, and her lower arms and legs were covered in bonelike plating. A short skirt decorated with skulls covered her waist, and what looked like some kind of bikini top covered her large bosom. But the most noticeable change was the fact that she now had a white vertebrae like tail hanging from her waist. The swarm of creatures took notice of me, and some of their number started to creep towards me. The rest of the mob all leapt at my friend.

"Evelyn!" I called as I dodged a swipe from a hollow.

I took advantage of its careless staggering to send a quick cut across its face. The hollow grunted in pain before dissolving, and I turned back to the rest of the creatures. The mob growled and began to simultaneously leap at me. I dodged, blocked, and countered as best I could, but I was quickly being forced to my knees. If I were Shinzo, half the mob would most likely be dead by now. She always was a better fighter. But if she saw me like this now, then she'd be disappointed in me. With that in mind, I stood up and took the rest of my portion of the swarm head on. Surprised by my sudden outburst, the creatures paused for a moment before my sword promptly decapitated them. Within a few minutes, the last of the swarm around me was dead. I had been hit many times, but the pain quickly subsided as my injuries quickly healed themselves. Readying my sword again, I charged over to the swarm around Evelyn. Suddenly, a large portion of her opponents were cut to shreds. Confused, I watched as the rest of the group quickly followed suit. As the last of the creatures faded into nothing, I saw the reason behind their sudden demise. Evelyn stood holding a pair of curved blades connected to chains that wrapped around her wrists. My friend looked around her, trying to find more things to take her rage out on. I slowly sheathed my sword and walked over to her.

"Evelyn, it's me. It's Hisana. Please, calm down, Evelyn." I said carefully.

Evelyn turned toward me. I couldn't tell if it was working or not because of the mask over her eyes.

"Hisana? Is that you?" she said in her altered voice.

"Yes Evelyn, I'm here. What happened? Why are you so upset?"

"It's…Inoue…she's…gone…they killed her…" her voice was slowly returning to normal.

The fiery aura around Evelyn disappeared, along with her weapons. Her clothing went back to normal, and she collapsed to her knees with her head hung low. I walked over and knelt down beside my tall friend, resting a hand on her shoulder for reassurance.

"She was like another mom to me…she's looked after me ever since kaa-san died…" Evelyn said to herself.

I knew how she must have felt, so I hugged her close. "I know."

We stayed like this for a few moments so that she could let out her grief. When she was finished, my friend regained her composure and rose to her feet.

"Thank you." she said, wiping away the last of her tears.

I nodded. Then I remembered why I came here in the first place.

"Evelyn, I'm looking for nee-san. She was headed your way the last time I saw her. Have you seen her?"

My friend shook her head. "I haven't seen her since she picked you up at school. But I think I saw her car go past me when that weirdo with the pink hair started talking. Other than that, nothing."

I lowered my gaze a little. "I see…"

"Hisana, are you feeling alright? I'm feeling a lot more energy from you than usual."

"That's probably because mama gave me the last of her power. She said it would help me learn my sword's name."

"Last of her power? You mean Mrs. Ebony is…"

I nodded. "Yes. Yomi kaa-san as well."

"Damn…I'm sorry, Hisana. You knew your parents longer than I knew mine, so I can only imagine how you feel." Evelyn gave me a comforting hug. "It's ok to let it out, you did the same for me."

I welcomed the gesture, and did the same. "I've already shed all my tears."

Evelyn simply nodded and stroked my back. After a few minutes, we decided that the best thing we could do now was head to Urahara's Shop. Mr. Urahara usually had a clue about what was going on, so we figured he might know where we can find Shinzo. We decided to borrow Ms. Inoue's car, and took off down the street. While we were driving, Evelyn glanced over at my satchel.

"What's in the bag?" she asked while keeping her eyes forward.

"A few clothes, some money, and a few portraits. Even if mama and kaa-san are gone, I don't want to forget them."

Evelyn smiled. "Good thinking."

"By the way, what was that back at your house? I've seen you get angry before, but you never transformed like that."

"I'm not sure. I think it has something to do with my heritage. According to Ms. Inoue, my mother could do the same thing when she was angry or upset."

I nodded. "That would make sense."

After a few more minutes of driving, we arrived at Urahara's Shop. However, we were not the only ones who had decided to pay the ex-captain a visit. Standing amidst the smoldering remains of what was once the shop, was an enormous mass of fire and shadow that stood around 30 feet high. A pair of pitch-black bat like wings jutted out from the shadow, along with a long tail. Whatever the thing was, it took notice of us and slowly turned around, causing a slight tremor with each step it took. Finally, the monster reared its ugly head in our direction. It had two large curved horns, an almost skeletal nose, and its eyes were aglow with pure fire and rage. It opened its jaws and let out a powerful deep roar, fire spewing from its mouth as it did so. I summoned my zanpakuto, and Evelyn transformed.

"What the hell is that thing?!" I asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is it looks like it took out Urahara and the others!" Evelyn noted.

I grit my teeth. Everyone around me was dying, but why? Was Marluxia trying to mess with my head? Or was he just trying to make me more motivated to kill him? Either way, vengeance was due, and I was not about to let this monster cause any more harm. I charged toward the monster and slashed at where I thought its feet would be. My sword struck something, and the monster let out a growl of pain, just before kicking me with its large foot. I flew straight into the car we had used to get here. If I were a normal human, that probably would have killed me. Shaking off the injuries, I stood up and joined Evelyn for a combined attack at the beast. This time the monster drew a hand holding a sword of pure fire from within the depths of the shadow around him, and swung to meet our blows. His blade collided with ours, and we were tossed back. Evelyn got up first this time, and threw her blades at the monster. It caught the weapons in its empty hand, and yanked her toward it. Evelyn was pulled close, and the monster prepared to slash her with its sword.

"Evelyn!" I yelled.

Quickly getting up, I flash stepped to the monster's sword arm and swung. With a loud roar, the monster reeled back its arm, and the fire sword disintegrated. Free from the beast's grasp, Evelyn flung her blades at its head. The curved weapons latched onto one of the monster's horns, and Evelyn pulled with all her might. The monster fell to its knees with its head yanked toward the side, struggling against Evelyn's grip. While she held the monster in place, Evelyn proceeded to repeatedly sock it in the face. I also took advantage of the immobilization and began to slash away at a glowing spot on the monster's chest. Magma like blood began to pour out of its body after I had made a decent cut in its rock like hide. Enraged and in pain, the monster suddenly surged with strength and freed itself from Evelyn's hooks, grabbing her and throwing her at me. Both of us were knocked into a remnant of the shop, with Evelyn on top of me. I tried to get my friend to rise, but she had struck her head against the debris and was out cold. The monster shook off the pain of its injuries, and held out its hand again. This time a long whip composed entirely of flame formed in its hand, and it lashed out at us. I managed to shove Evelyn out of the way and rolled us aside as the whip smashed our previous position. The monster glared and cracked its whip before preparing to attack again. I stood up and readied my sword. If I was about to die, then I would die standing up. The monster roared and swung its arm toward me. If only I had been stronger, then I might've had a chance… I thought as the whip came close to striking me. However, it stopped just before contact, along with everything else in the world. Somehow, it seemed as though time had stopped for everyone but me.

"There is strength within you. If you desire it, you need only call my name." a woman's voice said in my mind.

I suddenly felt a wave of power surge through me, along with words that begged to be released. Taking a stance, I held my zanpakuto horizontally and shouted.

"Soar, Tenshi no Shirayuki!" (angel of white snow)

A brilliant light surrounded me as time resumed, causing the monster in front of me to recoil and shield its eyes. When the light finally cleared, I no longer held a sword in my hand. Instead, I now had a pure white naginata with a ribbon trailing from the base of its blade. My eyes traveled along the length of the weapon in awe. Its handle was at least 4 feet long with an 18-inch long blade. This was my zanpakuto's true form.

"Do not forget where you are, your life is still in danger." came the woman's voice again.

I snapped back to reality in time to dodge a lash from the monster's fire whip. Readying my naginata, I charged forward. The monster swung his whip to intercept me, but to both our surprise his weapon froze solid upon coming in contact with mine. Taking advantage of his momentary shock, I slashed upwards, shattering his whip to pieces. While the monster roared in angry confusion, I surged forward again and thrust my blade into his midsection. Pulling out, I then quickly sent a quick series of slashes at his chest, creating an opening in the center. I leapt back as he tried to grab me.

"Good. Now that he is vulnerable, call on me and end this battle with the next blow."

"Got it!" I said mentally.

I positioned my naginata so that it was pointing straight at the glowing opening in the monster's chest. I felt a rush of power surge through me as a white glow surrounded my body. More words flew into my mind, and I was more than happy to speak them.

"Tengoku tsume mai!" (heavenly talon dance)

Almost reflexively, I swung my blade in a diagonal arc. A stream of white light rapidly descended from the sky and mirrored my movement, directly striking the weak point on the monster. A large gush of magma erupted from the spot on the monster's chest as he roared in pain. I swung a few more times in an almost dance like fashion, and the light descended again. The last few hits struck, and the monster groaned before his torso slid off his waist and he collapsed. The fire and shadow that surrounded his body disappeared, leaving only charred black remains behind. I took that as a sign that it was completely dead, and dropped to my knees in exhaustion. As I sat there I took another look at my zanpakuto. I now noticed there was an angel decoratively etched into the length of the blade.

"Tenshi no Shirayuki…" I whispered.

"Whenever you need me, Hisana, you need only call. You and I exist together. My strength is your strength." my zanpakuto replied mentally.

"Thank you, I will."

Remembering my injured friend, I went over to where Evelyn lay unconscious. I nudged her a few times, and she began to stir. I sighed in relief as she rubbed the back of her head and slowly opened her eyes.

"Damn, I'm gonna be feeling that for a while. Did we win?" she said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I managed to beat him. And look!" I held my naginata out for her to see.

Evelyn's eyes widened at the sight of the weapon. "No way…is that your zanpakuto?"

"You bet! Her name is Tenshi no Shirayuki."

"Her?"

"It, uh…kinda talks to me in my head. It's voice sounded like a woman's."

"Okay...weirdness aside, I'm glad you've managed to learn the name of your sword. If I remember correctly, didn't Mrs. Ebony's zanpakuto have a similar name?"

"That's right! Hers was called Sode no Shirayuki." (sleeve of white snow)

"Heh, looks like we both got something special from our parents. Maybe my hooks have something to do with my birth mother. I never met her, so I can't be sure."

"As far as I know, the only thing I got from Yomi kaa-san was my looks."

We both laughed at this, but our joy was cut short when a massive swarm of hollows and those weird faceless creatures surrounded us. We instantly assumed fighting positions and got back to back. The creatures began to rapidly attack us in waves, barely giving us time to recover. We were already worn out from our battle with the fire monster from moments ago. It wouldn't be long now before they would overrun us. Both Evelyn and I were now on our knees, too exhausted to stand. The swarm lunged to finish us off.

"Alright, that's enough of that." said a very laid back male voice.

Suddenly a wall of flame rose around me and Evelyn, followed by two flaming spiked chakrams flying from out nowhere and cutting the mob to bits. A figure wearing a back cloak like Marluxia jumped down next to us, the wall of fire bursting and vanishing as he hit the ground. The figure stood up and held out his hands. The chakrams cast off their flames and flew to his waiting hands. I tried to rise to my feet, and took a stance in preparation.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa calm down! I'm not here to fight!" the figure said. He snapped his fingers, and the chakrams disappeared. "See? Not an enemy."

I narrowed my eyes at the figure. "How can I be sure you're not Marluxia in disguise?"

"Marluxia? Oh right, the cloak! Sorry, its been awhile since I've had the chance to see people."

The figure pulled down his hood, revealing a long red spiky mane. He had green eyes with teardrop tattoos beneath either eye, and an all-knowing smirk spread over his mouth. He was…pretty handsome. He must have noticed me staring, because then his smirk turned into a wide grin as he held out his hand.

"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?"

The three of us decided to spend the night at a nearby hotel. (neither Evelyn nor I wanted to sleep in our homes, especially since our loved ones had died there) Axel explained to us that he and Marluxia were once part of a group known as Organization XIII, and somehow the two of them had been brought back to life. He didn't know how, but Marluxia had suddenly attained an incredible amount of power, enough to consider him an almost godlike being. He revealed part of his plan for the tournament to Axel, but that was not in the pyro's interests.

"He tried to make me into one of his guardians," Axel explained as we sat in the main room. "but I wasn't about to become someone's errand boy again, so I bolted. He sent a whole shitload of dusks after me, but I took care of them. I remembered him talking about some people who might be able to win his game, and how he was going to get rid of them, so I came here to warn your parents. Though judging by the look of things, I was too late."

I nodded and lowered my gaze. "At least you tried, I guess…"

"After I found out your parents were dead, I started looking for you. I saw you guys taking on the Balrog, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the show for a bit."

"Balrog?" Evelyn asked.

"The big demon thing with the fire sword and whip you fought earlier. Guy looks like me on a bad day."

We all laughed a little at the joke before Axel continued.

"I saw you pull out that fancy spear of yours, it was really something."

"Thanks. That was my zanpakuto, Tenshi no Shirayuki." I said, a little proud of myself.

"Zanpakuto?" he said before letting out a big yawn.

"It's a special weapon meant to kill evil spirits called hollows. Each zanpakuto has a name and type of powers, depending on its wielder. Mine looks like its powers are light based, but I'm not too certain about it yet. My sister Shinzo has a zanpakuto as well, but I don't know whether or not she's figured out its name yet, or if she's even still alive…wherever she is…"

I let my gaze drop to the floor again. It felt bad to be apart from Shinzo during a time like this, especially with all of those creatures running around. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around me from behind, and turned to see Evelyn hugging me. She gave me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Shinzo's strong. I'm sure she's alright. And don't worry, we'll find her Hisana. I know we will." my friend said softly.

I smiled in thanks. Axel also smiled at the scene, and reclined back onto his chair. "Y'know, if it makes you feel any better, the Balrog was one of Marluxia's guardians. Only 41 left to go now."

"You make it sound so easy…" I grumbled.

Axel smirked. "Well, it's no fun if you don't think you have a chance, is it? Besides, with the three of us working together, we'll take them down in no time."

"Three of us?"

"Yep. I've decided to stick with you guys for a while. You want to kick Marluxia's ass as much as I do, so it only makes sense." he then looked at me and smiled softly. "I'll help you find your sister."

With the thought of being reunited with Shinzo on my mind, I retired for the night. Axel volunteered to keep watch in case anything showed up while we were sleeping, but ended up retiring with me after Evelyn insisted she take first watch instead. The pyro simply shrugged his shoulders and went into the bedroom next to mine. I set Shirayuki down by the foot of the bed, laid down, and slowly drifted into sleep.

Not far away…

"How…how can this be?!" the man called M. Bison shouted as he fell to his knees.

I smirked and slowly strode towards him, weapons ready.

"You must be a demon…to have such strength…and…to have such fierce eyes."

"A demon?" I stated as I stopped in front of him. "No, I wouldn't say that. I'm just a girl who protects her little sister."

SCHINK! SCHINK!

M. Bison gagged for a second, then blood burst from the two holes that had just been made in his lungs. He collapsed still looking up at me. How pathetic, the dictator was supposed to be a guardian, and yet he had barely been a challenge. I sighed as I sheathed my zanpakuto and glanced at the dimly lit city below. My gaze settled on the hotel at the base of the hill, where I thought I saw a pair of amber eyes staring in my direction. Evelyn always did have a knack for knowing when I was watching. I smiled and looked up at the moon hanging in the night sky.

"Congratulations, Hisana. You've finally achieved shikai. It looks like I was right, your zanpakuto is just as beautiful as you are." I paused for a moment as I closed my eyes and breathed in the night air. "I'm sorry I haven't told you yet, that I've already learned my sword's name and mastered its shikai abilities. I'm also sorry that I can't tell you the truth about us, about what we really are. You're lucky enough that it doesn't show up in you like it does in me…"

I partially drew my sword so that I could see my eyes. A pair of blood red orbs stared up at me from the shining metal. I heard the sound of a few stray hollows coming close, and drew my sword completely. Turning around, I saw there were at least a dozen of them, all adjunchas. I smiled as I held out my sword while drawing the second one I kept hidden.

"Run them through, Ryuketsu no Bara." (bloody rose)

A quick flash of light, and my swords had become a pair of red rapiers. Four other identical swords rested in pairs on either side of my waist. The hollows roared and charged at me.

"Fools."

Not even five minutes later, the evil spirits were all dead and dissolving into nothing. I flicked the blood of my swords and sheathed them before starting to walk away into the night.

"Just wait, Hisana. I'll win this game for us, and kill the bastard who took our mothers away. Then, when the time comes for me to make my wish, I will make sure that we stay together, always. I promise you that."

40 Guardians Remaining

A/N: So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Axel has joined the team, and Shinzo is up to something. What kind of secrets could she be keeping, I wonder? Lol hope you liked the zanpakutos. It took me a while to figure out their names and appearances. As always, be sure to leave a review, I'm always eager to see what you have to say. Till next time! DarkNovelist out.