Shinigami Academy Dormitories

April 3rd, 1951

"Hey, need anything?" I knocked on the door, "Oh and I talked to Ukitake. He said that it was perfectly fine with you comin' over to see me every once in a while."

Toushirou turned around, holding one of his new hakamas, his face twisted in horror, "Nazeka, how'd you get in here? This is the boys' dormitory. Girls aren't allowed."

"Well… I'm a sixth year, and I'm kinda under the supervision of Ukitake, so no one really gets too uptight with me. And I told them that I just needed to see how you were doing and I was gonna be outta here in ten minutes at the most. Any more than that, and I told them they could come and get me if they really wanted to."

"You're really taking that for granted, aren't you? I can't believe you got away with that."

"Maybe, and I can certainly believe it. Anyway, like I asked before, do you need anything?"

"Uh… no. I didn't have much to bring anyway, so there really isn't anything you can do," He set down his hakama in the closet next to the rolled up bed sheets. I leaned on the doorway and scoured the room. I'd never lived in a dormitory before, but I had lived in an apartment most of my life, so I suppose that wasn't much of a difference.

"Y'know, I've met someone who looked a lot like you before, in the World of the Living. Strange…" I suddenly blurted out. He really did remind me of someone I had met. I don't remember when, but I definitely remember meeting him.

"That was sudden. And I seriously doubt you've met someone who looked like me. I mean, how many guys are out there with spiky white hair and teal eyes. It's not exactly common you know," He shut the closet door and leaned up against it.

"I really did. Except… well… I can't remember much about him. I've forgotten a lot about my life in the World of the Living now. Guess that's normal, huh?"

"Yeah. Most people forget within days. I'm surprised you remembered that."

"Me too. Anyway, I should get outta here before my time is up, so I just have one more question for you."

"What's that?"

"Are you excited for tomorrow?"

"Hell no."

"I figured as much."

"Then why did you ask?"

"Dunno."

"You are so confusing sometimes."

"Welcome to my world."

"What?"

"Bye!" I turned and left, trotting down the stairs. He stuck his head out the door, "You are so random!"

"I know! See you at school tomorrow! Don't forget, you can come visit me any time you want!" I ran down the hall and through the different passageways until I reached the entrance. I nodded to the two guys guarding the door, "Thanks!" and ran off.

It wasn't long before I heard footsteps behind me. I glanced behind me to see Kaien behind me, waving his hands, "Hey, Nazeka!"

"Kaien? What are you doing here?" I stopped and waited for him.

"What the hell are you doing over here? One: this is the boys' dormitory; and two: we had training half an hour ago! I told you specifically last night that I was going to privately train you like I did with Rukia at 10:30 today! It's already 11 o' clock!"

"Oh… well, I can explain. You know that kid that I was always hanging—"

"—C'mon!" He grabbed my arm and pulled me in the opposite direction, "I don't wanna hear any excuses!"

"B-but—"

"No buts!" He dragged me away from the dormitories and through the Seireitei. We passed Renji on the way there—he was applying for positions on the different squads so that way he could move immediately into one when he graduates. I was going to, but apparently Captain Yamamoto had plans for me… yippee.

"Nazeka… what are you—?"

"—Can't talk, sorry Renji! Apparently I have some business with Kaien, so he's insisting that I head over there now."

"O-okay…?"

"Sorry!" I was dragged all the way to the 13th Squad's training grounds, where Kaien and Rukia usually train, along with some of the newbie members. He dropped me down onto the grass beside the dirt pad where the training commences.

"There was no need to drag me the whole way. I would've come—"

"You would not."

"You didn't let me finish. I would've come… eventually."

"Well, now it's eventually. So, time to train. Ready yourself."

"Wait… I don't even have my zanpakutou with me. It's in the barracks."

"Too bad."

"What!"

"What if you lose it during battle? What if it breaks? What if something happens to it to cause it to become worthless? You don't know what's out there or what could happen. So, since you don't have it with you, you'll be training without it."

"Kaien… you suck."

"Is that anyway to treat a lieutenant?"

"You're not my lieutenant. I don't have to respect you as much as I would if you were."

"That doesn't matter. I'm still your elder, and you're a shinigami student, so now that you're training to become a shinigami, I have tons of authority over you."

"Yeah right."

"I do! Now, get out on that field!"

"ARGH! I don't wanna!"

"TOO BAD!"

13th Squad Barracks

July 20th, 1951

"Nazeka!"

I heard Ukitake calling my name from around the corner and immediately sheathed my zanpakutou, quickly wiping the sweat from my forehead before he came into view.

"Yes? Oh, and I'm glad to see you are doing well today."

"There's someone here to see you."

"Oh? Who?"

"This is some place you've got."

I looked over to Ukitake's left to see Toushirou standing there with his arms folded, clearly uninterested. Wonderful, he comes over to my place for the first time and he greets me with a scowl. I just wanna know what the hell kind of relationship do we have? Are we friends or aren't we? If we are, then he had better wipe that scowl off his face already or I'll get rid of it permanently. I felt a vein pop in my forehead and tried to pass it off with a smile, but his attitude isn't exactly the greatest… and definitely not the greatest for making a first impression with Ukitake.

"Hey Toushirou! Enjoying summer vacation?"

He gave me a 'you-already-know-the-damn-answer' look, so I just ignored the silence, "You are feeling well today, aren't you, Ukitake?"

"Yes, which means I need to go help Kaien with the paperwork. Good to meet you Toushirou-kun," he patted Toushirou on the head—who did not look happy with the suffix he was appointed—and turned around. I smirked, "Well then, tell Kyouraku I said hi!"

He froze and glanced over his shoulder, "What? Why? What ever made you bring that up?"

I raised an eyebrow, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. If you promise me you won't drink too much today, I'll tell Kaien, Kiyone, and Sentarou that you aren't feeling well anymore and that you requested not to be disturbed, okay?"

He grinned, "Okay, okay. I'll make sure to tell Kyouraku you said hi. See you two later," he left quickly, leaving me and Toushirou alone… who was still scowling.

"Rule number one—"

"You're kidding, there're rules?"

"Let me finish. Rule number one: no scowling. That includes you. Rule number two…"

"What?"

"…You have to say hi to your friend."

"What friend?"

I frowned and hit him on the head.

"Ow. Jeez, I was just kidding," he moaned as he rubbed his head. I smiled, "I know. That's for your obnoxious behavior around the Captain."

"I wasn't obnoxious."

"Oh yes you were. Anyway, what'dya think?" I opened my arms out wide.

"Of what?"

"Of the bushes. No, of the frickin' barracks you moron."

"Who's the moron? I happen to recall that you were failing almost every class in school."

"'Were' is the key word. I have A's now," I poked his head.

"Yeah, but they're still on your permanent record. Anyway, I already told you what I thought of this place. That was the first thing I said you idiot," he folded his arms.

"I am not an idiot. Besides, you used sarcasm, so I don't know if you mean it or not."

"Fine, then let me rephrase what I said. This place is huge. You really live here?"

"Yes."

"And you have this whole wing to yourself?"

"Yes. Rukia would've moved in here, but she resides at the Kuchiki house with her brother, Kuchiki-taicho."

"I didn't ask for all the details."

I scowled, "Do you have to act like that? Your attitude sucks."

"Well excuse me."

I wandered over to the porch outside my room and sat down, setting down my zanpakutou next to me, "Anyway, come and sit. How do you like school so far? I haven't seen you for a while, since we've both been busy."

He joined me and sighed, "I have to admit… it's definitely different from what I expected."

"In a good or bad way?"

"…Good."

"See! I knew you would like it!" I hugged him, and I could feel him stiffen beneath me, "Okay! Okay! Get off me!" He pushed me off and scowled, "Don't ever do that again."

"Okay, okay. So, what about friends? Have you made any?"

"Yeah. His name is Kusaka Soujirou. He's in my class and we're… we're really good friends."

I could sense some hesitation behind his words, so I asked, "What's the matter?"

He sat there for some time, staring at the ground; and for the first time… I noticed that he looked older. He may not have grown any taller, but his face had thinned out and some of his bangs had disappeared. Lucky, I thought, you at least get to age a little bit…

He continued, "I think… I don't know. He doesn't seem the same… Ever since we obtained our zanpakutou, he's been acting a little differently."

"Well… maybe he just needs some time and then he'll go back to being normal. I'm sure he still wants to be friends with you."

"Yeah…"

"But… hey, you got your zanpakutou, right? What's his name?"

"I'm not telling."

I stood up, "What!" No biggie. I already know… but he can't know that. It'd be too weird.

He looked away, "You heard me. You shouldn't give out the name of your zanpakutou left and right, you know. So, I'm not telling you. You can find out if you ever fight me."

"Fight you? How about… when I'm in battle with you? Not against you. Why would I wanna fight my best friend?"

He looked up at me, "…Best… friend?"

"Of course! You were my first friend here, and you're the closest friend I have! Doesn't that qualify you for being my best friend?"

He looked back down at the dirt, "I… I never thought about it."

"Gee, thanks."

"That's not what I meant," he mumbled. I smiled and sat down again, looking up at the dark gray sky. It was surprisingly gloomy for a summer evening, but with the recent heat spike, it would be normal for summer storms.

"Hey, it looks like it's gonna rain," I mentioned, and he rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure. The sky was cloudless earlier."

"Summer storms are funny like that."

"I still don't believe—huh?" He looked up as a raindrop hit him square in between his eyes. More and more followed before it started pouring, with thunder rolling in from the distance. Toushirou groaned, "Great… how am I supposed to get back to the dormitories now? It's already late enough."

I took off my shoes and put them on the porch where they wouldn't get wet, "Why, were you planning on leaving? Anyway, since you'll get drenched if you go now, why don't we go inside? It'll be a lot less humid and it won't be as loud from the rain."

He looked at the corner where he had arrived from, but seemed to have second thoughts when he took off his shoes and put them next to mine. I picked up my zanpakutou and smiled, "All right. C'mon, let's go inside!" I opened up the door and quickly went to the closet and pulled out two cushions for us to sit on. My room was practically bare, so there was no where else to sit.

I set the cushions down in the middle of the floor and then placed my zanpakutou against the wall in the corner of the room nearest the door. I heard the door close shut and I turned around, "Well, whaddya think? This is my room. The other rooms are just through those sliding doors. We can stay here until the rain goes away." I saw his cheeks go a little red when I said 'my room'.

"This… this is your room?"

"Yeah. Gotta problem? Look, if it makes you uncomfortable, I've seen your room, so it's no big deal if you're in mine. Besides, I have nothing but my clothes, bed, and some everyday stuff in here. Nothing really personal. It shouldn't make you uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? W-why would I be uncomfortable?"

"You're blushing."

A look of horror passed over his face and he quickly sat down on one of the cushions, "…was not…" he muttered.

Lightning flashed outside the door and I could hear the rain get harder. I moaned, "Just perfect. It looks like it'll last all night."

"Looks like I'm not getting to the dormitories tonight after all."

"Nope. Well, you're just lucky we're in the vacant wing and the rooms all have beds, so you can spend the night in one of them."

"What about food?"

"We'll just have to wait until tomorrow. No biggie. It'll just be like a training exercise in case something worse than this happens." I opened up my closet again as another peal of thunder sounded, "Okay, I'm sure you wanna get out of those wet clothes."

"Huh?"

"You were sitting on the edge of the porch for some time, so your hakama and tabi are soaked," I reached into my closet and pulled out one of my white jinbei style pants and handed it to him, "Here. Wait one second," I reached back in and pulled out a jinbei shirt, "Here we are. Tada. I hope they fit though."

He took it and held it up, "Thanks… I'll be right back." He stood up and went into the neighboring room while I changed as well. I took off my uniform and changed into my own jinbei pants and shirt quickly… before he even thought about coming back into my room. I slid into the bathroom and quickly wiped off my face since I had been training earlier; then I went back into the room and sat down on my cushion.

It wasn't long before Toushirou opened the door. I smiled, "Come on in."

"Sorry, but I'm a little tired. Earlier today I… well, I'm just tired. Is that okay?"

"Sure. The bed is in the closet. Need any help?" I offered.

"No. I'm okay. Sorry about all this." He scratched the back of his head.

"It's absolutely no problem at all. I'll see ya in the morning then!" I grinned, picking up his cushion and mine and putting them back in the closet. "Yeah," he nodded.

He shut the door; but I wasn't ready to go to bed quite yet, so I peeked outside just as a flash of lighting was followed by thunder. I sighed, "I was certainly not expecting that today. Oh well… this turn of events turned out to be quite interesting."

I watched the rain get harder and harder for a few more minutes before I decided to go to bed; and as soon as my bed was set up, I switched off the lights and went to sleep.

"Well, it's been a while."

I groaned and opened my eyes, feeling the rock of the tower against my back, and looking up at the mix of cherry, plum, and peach blossoms. Beneath one of the cherry blossoms was Syugoryuu, wrapped around the base of the trunk waving his tail. He yawned and scratched himself behind the ears like a dog before speaking, "What's up?"

I narrowed my eyes, "…er… nothing right now…"

"Wrong."

"Huh?"

"The sky is up!" He grinned and laughed… but I smacked my forehead. …What is wrong with my zanpakutou spirit?

I stood and frowned, "Surely there's another reason for bringing me here than to listen to your corny jokes."

Next thing I knew, he was two inches away from me and growling, his teeth bared, "Now that is no way to treat your zanpakutou spirit! And that wasn't corny!"

"There is another reason, isn't there? Then stop wasting my sleeping time and tell me what it is!" I demanded, and then added, "And yes, it was corny. That was extremely corny."

He relaxed and quieted himself, lowering his lips to cover his fangs; and then he pushed me forward using his muzzle towards the front of the temple. "I have something to show you."

"What?"

"You'll see."

We passed the front entrance—which was where I thought he was taking me—but instead of stopping there, he started pushing me towards where the huge stone gates were: the only thing keeping everything in and the only thing separating my inner world… from Toushirou's inner world. But instead of the gates, there was simply a big gaping hole from where they had been.

"What…? Where did they go?" I asked, and Syugoryuu finally stopped pushing me, responding, "It's gone. It'll be gone until one of you die. Ever since Toushirou gained his zanpakutou, his bridge between his inner world and himself has grown stronger. Your bridge has done the same; and now that both of you have succeeded in gaining us, your inner worlds have been officially connected. This means he can enter your inner world, and you can enter his."

"Wow. So, does he know about this?"

"He's about to find out because I know that Hyourinmaru has called Toushirou here too."

"Wait… so why tell him this stuff when we're asleep? He's just gonna think it's a dream."

"That's why you're here. You can tell him in the morning that you had the same dream and you can explain any more questions he has."

"Thanks," I muttered. He walked over to the edge of the gate and roared, lifting his head up to the sky as he did, and it sounded different. We waited for a few minutes before a great shimmering light blue dragon appeared made of ice, with two great wings on his back and no feet—he just used his wings to get around. On his back was Toushirou, who jumped down onto the ice on his side and looked through the gate, extremely surprised at what he saw, "Nazeka!"

I grinned, "Hey. What's up?" I saw Syugoryuu open his mouth to speak, but I cut him off before he had a chance, "Don't answer that."

He narrowed his eyes, but changed his demeanor quickly when he turned to Hyourinmaru. He gave a great toothy grin and laughed, "Hey there, Hyourinmaru. How're you?"

"Perfectly fine. I hope your new master's treating you well," He replied in a great booming voice that could've surely cracked the ice. Syugoryuu smirked, "Yeah, she is, but she's making fun of my jokes."

"Syugoryuu, you were never one for comedy."

"Shut up!" He growled, raising his neck, but Hyourinmaru ignored the challenge, lowering his head to get a better look at me, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Hyourinmaru, Toushirou's zanpakutou spirit. You must be Nazeka. I hope you're prepared to handle Syugoryuu."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle him," I laughed, giving a slight bow to the great ice dragon. Syugoryuu lowered his head as well to look at Toushirou, "Hey there Toushirou. I'm Syugoryuu, Nazeka's zanpakutou spirit. We're all here today to explain one major thing: the reason why we're able to communicate between our master's inner worlds. You're the only one in the dark, so we thought we'd all come here to explain it to you."

"Hyourinmaru could've told me, so why did all of you have to come?" Toushirou scowled, but Syugoryuu attempted to ignore his attitude, "Because Nazeka needs some extra explaining too. Anyway, let's begin."

He began to explain everything I had heard earlier, so I wasn't paying too much attention, but every now and then, Hyourinmaru would add little things that I had also heard from Syugoryuu. It wasn't until later that this involved me, "Nazeka."

"Hmm?" I asked, immediately paying attention. Syugoryuu continued, "You and Toushirou are the only ones that can go into each other's worlds. Not even Hyourinmaru and I can go into each other's. It would cause your inner worlds to collapse, and also—"

"—we can't have Syugoryuu coming from out of your inner world. Especially on one of his rampages. It's not so much as me as it is him," Hyourinmaru interrupted.

"So… this would be one of the reasons you said that at times I would wish you were still under that seal, right, Syugoryuu?" I asked, and he nodded. Great… I wonder how often those 'rampages' happen.

"Anyway, you can go into each other's worlds any time you want. There's just one little catch to it."

"What?" Toushirou and I simultaneously asked.

"Say Nazeka left her inner world and entered Toushirou's. Then Toushirou's reiatsu would sky rocket out of control and leave Nazeka's reiryoku completely depleted. Likewise for Toushirou leaving his inner world."

"In other words… It's dangerous for both of us?" I suggested.

"Extremely in specific circumstances. Anyway, that's it. You guys can try it if you want, and it won't be a big deal since you're not in battle or anything, so go ahead."

I looked at Toushirou, who caught my gaze. We both shook our heads, "I don't think I wanna try it… even if we are just asleep."

"Suit yourself. You guys can go back to sleep now. See ya later, Toushirou!" Syugoryuu waved his tail.

"Good night, Toushirou. See ya in the morning," I told him. He nodded, "Likewise." He turned and disappeared, obviously leaving his inner world. I bowed to Hyourinmaru, hugged Syugoryuu around the neck—which he didn't seem to appreciate, but dealt with it—and began to turn and leave, but I stopped when Syugoryuu growled at Hyourinmaru.

"So I hear that you have two masters now. What the hell is that about!"

"The other boy needed a zanpakutou spirit. He begged for one before he even entered the academy."

"So you thought you could just let him have one, even when you already had a master! You bastard! What the hell is wrong with you! Don't you even care about Toushirou! Do you know what will happen now! You know perfectly well the laws of the Soul Society! No two zanpakutou can be the same! Now that there are two, Central 46 will surely make them fight to the death or kill one of them! You're going to be responsible for making those two boys suffer, and they're best friends too! Damn you! Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Syugoryuu roared and reared back, slamming himself against an invisible barrier that separated the two worlds; it shocked him, and he fell to the ground, still growling. He got up and did it again, and again, and again, until he couldn't move any more and was just lying on the ground.

"Syugoryuu!" I yelled, running to his side and kneeling by his head, stroking his burnt fur and mane in between his horns. He whimpered and looked up at Hyourinmaru, forcing out, "You don't care about your masters. You're a traitor to both of them. You don't deserve to be a zanpakutou spirit, and you're not fit to be the great ice dragon that you are!"

Hyourinmaru looked at him sadly and left, leaving me and Syugoryuu alone. I stroked his head softly until he had the strength to get up. He looked at me sadly, "Your friend is going to suffer… and I suppose you're going to have to be the one to comfort him when he does. Don't abandon him, and never let anything separate you two; because he is going to need you very soon. He's going to need you to help him amend the hurt that his own zanpakutou enforced on him."

"Don't worry. I will stay by Toushirou's side and protect him. That's one of the reasons I could hear your name."

He smirked softly, "That's good to hear. But you can't protect him from everything. Unfortunately, that's all I can tell you right now. We're just going to have to see how this plays out. I need to rest now, so you're going to have to leave; oh, and don't worry, my physical state doesn't affect your spiritual or your physical state. I'll see you later then, master," He stretched out and spun up into the air, twisting his tail around to push him into the air. He disappeared into the clouds, and I did the same—disappearing from my own inner world, and falling back asleep.