Chapter XI: Master and Zanpakutou

"Should you not have killed him as planned?" Yoruichi asked in a low quiet voice; she stood at the doorway of the room staring with narrow eyes at the back of the man who sat calmly at a small table, a small cup of freshly brewed tea sitting untouched in front of him, but his face showed nothing with that neutral frown and eyes hidden completely from view. The two easily noticed the short visit from the captain and his lieutenant and for a brief moment before they disappeared, Yoruichi feared a conflict would arise which would not have been good given that Orihime was unconscious and Muramasa's actions were still questionable even now.

Urahara took a moment to break down her words and contemplate over the growing situation.

"Well, I'm fairly certain that the issue is being discussed in Soul Society even as we speak. They'll no doubt bring the two over for a nice long chat." He smirked as he brought the warm cup to his lips and took a slow sip. It was hot, burning his skin through the ceramic material, but he continued to hold the cup and stare at his green reflection that looked back at him, the smirk quickly falling.

"It could have all been avoided if you just finished him." She said with a sigh, slowly closing her eyes at already knowing what his next words were.

"You know you would have tried the same thing if not something similar."

"Orders are orders. Yamamoto would have our heads. Who's to say he isn't planning that out right now?"

Urahara only laughed at her statement. It was supposed to be threatening, but having her say the known fact only made it seem humorous, seeing as they both dwelled among the living instead of remaining as captains. He quietly placed the cup down and gestured to his feline companion to join him in which she reluctantly followed. There was another empty cup sitting beside the small kettle, but neither made a move to fill it up.

"They'll be coming soon... What do you suppose we do?" She asked as she placed her fist below her cheek while looking at him expectantly.

"What can we do? It'll all be up to Miss Inoue and her new sword. Heh, if a fight starts up, I will be certain not to miss it!" He chuckled as he tried to picture Orihime becoming a fierce shinigami. "She could almost be just like Captain Unohana." His smile widened at the thought.

"I for one, do not find that amusing. At the very least they will imprison her just the same as they did Rukia and break her sword. She has yet to fully become one with him, but they are too far in to reverse what has been done. The pain would be devastating; physically as well as emotionally. And that is just a hypothesis." The others, especially themselves, would know of no such thing. Their swords were still very much intact and eventually became restored. Kouga was not even dead when Muramasa was apart from him and yet the seperation was almost unbearable to the zanpakutou. "In any case... we won't know until they send someone and it's most likely going to be the lieutenant of squad six again."

"Well, at least we'll have a little fun with him. But I would like to inform Orihime before hand so it won't be that much of a shock."

"Should I go instead?"

"I don't see why not." Yoruichi nodded, stalling for a moment before shifting into her cat form. A 'meow' escaped the graceful animal as it made its way out the door and soon out the store.

"Yes, it is indeed troublesome my dear kitten." He allowed himself the small pleasure of a smile, drinking at a slow, almost content pace. The morning would most definately come too soon, it would be best to enjoy the silent solitude of the night to its fullest.

Muramasa had yet to leave Orihime's side. His eyes completely fixed upon her resting form. Fatigue no longer clung to his soul, the stinging of tears stopped its overflow and though it was not complete, the gaping space of what used to be his heart was slowly shrinking back as a whole. With each moment that passed, he could feel his strength continue to replenish and bring him back to his former glory. His expression was calm, but his continuous scowl still remained as a sort of habit when in deep thought. He felt the faint trace of reiatsu leaking far above Orihime's home; the presence of the shinigami. A huff of a sigh escaped him as the biting feeling of trouble gnawed at his mind; no peace had been settled between him and the laws of Soul Society, not to mention the ways of the zanpakutou that he not only manipulated, but had hurt them in a way that was possibly irrepairable. His eyes became clouded with hidden shame as they continued to stare at Orihime.

He lowered himself to sit at the ground, waiting for her to wake or waiting for the inevitable visit granted by the Head Captain. He wasn't quite certain, but it was safe to think he could be waiting for both. As he sat and listened to the natural melodies and whispers of the night, he heard the chirping of the crickets, the soft wind rustling the loose leaves across the windows, and the soft murmurs coming from Orihime. A great portion of her speech was slurred by deep sleep, becoming nothing more than mumbles. A dream, but by the sound of it, he could tell that it was something pleasant, so there was no need to feel any concern of her subconcious state.

"What do you think will happen now, Muramasa-san?" The voice of Shun'o asked. Muramasa flinched slightly at the sudden sound, but quickly recovered as realization sunk in. It should have came as no surprise since they were connected in a way. Even so, it was unnerving. It was certainly something he would have to get used to soon.

"At this point anything could happen." He whispered lowly with a grim expression.

"To Orihime as well?"

"I cannot imagine that they would try anything towards her, but it is a possibility. I'm fairly certain, however, that they are solely troubled by my continued existence and will try to end it according to the original course."

"So you're saying they're gonna try and kill ya?"

"Tsubaki!"

"It's the truth!" He snapped. "No use in sugar-coating it!"

Muramasa could not even help the smirk that formed at the sound of the quarreling sprites from within the confines of the pins that lay at the armrest of the couch near Orihime's head.

Before he could even think to respond to them, a long almost mournful cry of a feline broke the silence of the air from beyond the building. For a moment, Muramasa did not even bother to get up, but at the sight of a black cat jumping to sit on the small space of the window and repeating its cry, he immediately recognized the beast. He stood, his eyes locked onto the cat's as he slowly made his way to open the window. With a click and the slide of a hand, it was unlocked and opened. The cat hastily pounced inside. He glared at the feline as it quickly sat in front of Orihime, taking in her peaceful expression before turning its attention back to him.

"I trust you know why I have paid a visit." He nodded.

"What do you plan to do?" She flicked her tail from side to side in mild curiosity.

"I cannot act on my own. I will wait for when she wakes." He whispered, moving his eyes to land back on Orihime. His gaze softened and had it not been for the pressing matters he would have been quite content with simply watching over her until she woke up.

"Precisely. You will have to wait until she wakes, but then what? It could be too late by then." He understood where she was going with the conversation, but he was still uncertain if it was right to wake her. He would much rather take everything himself, but that will lead them nowhere and it would bring about more problems, more fights that were not needed and had no place among them.

"She will wake by then, I'm sure. The transfer has not taken alot of her strength."

"But it is not yet complete, her soul has not seperated, has not joined with your own. Something is holding her back and I highly doubt it is her."

Muramasa said nothing and it was only angering Yoruichi further.

"Muramasa, they will kill you and if push comes to shove they will kill her."

"You are simply exaggerating the situation, it is not that bad of a problem. There is no reason to kill her simply because she is unwilling to comply with their orders."

Silence filled the gap between them and with it, the time continued to rush forward. His eyebrows furrowed into a look of someone in pain, or was it enraged anger? Yoruichi could see he was trying to hide something, trying to deal with something that apparently no one else should be aware of. She already had an idea of what it was, but she held her tongue.

"Whatever it is, Muramasa, you'd do well to tell them everything." With nothing more to say, she turned swiftly and left the same way she came in. Leaving the zanpakutou to ponder over her words and to wonder how the next day will turn out.

"Are you all right, Muramasa-san?"

He could see that Shun'o meant well, but just couldn't answer him. His hands slipped into his pockets, his head lowered and his eyes slowly closed. His form blended with the background, faint colors covered his body as he stepped back into his own realm. He stepped onto a lone distant pillar, ignoring the small presence of the fairies that hovered elsewhere. Waiting for her voice to call him.

It was not until a few hours after the sun had risen over the sky that Orihime had finally woken up. Her shoulder was stiff and slightly numb from lying on it in the same position for too long. Sleep was still heavy on her eyelids, but it was not so demanding. The light brightened the whole room. A small yawn escaped her as she slowly rose into a sitting position, for a while all that could be heard were the songs of birds flying and the faint noise of passing cars as well as the busy people.

Lazily, she pushed away the blanket only to feel something underneath obstuct the motion. Confused, she pulled it back and her eyes widened at the sight of the doll rolling to fall on its back, the button eyes with its dirty face looking back at her. Cautiously, she took the doll into her hand to examine it closely.

"Where did-" A loud gasp broke her train of thought as panic swelled within her, her memories of the past day coming back to her and the very last thing she could recall is seeing Muramasa'a expression before he had disappeared.

"Muramasa-san! Muramasa-san!" She called repeatedly with her head looking back and forth frantically, trying desperately to find her companion somewhere in the room. She tossed the covers away from her to stand, but just as she was on her feet, a wave of dizzyness forced her to fall back on the couch. A small 'Mmph' was heard when she fell against it. Wide eyes looked at nothing as she tried to piece together what had happened and to figure out why she felt so tired physically, as well as to try and catch her breath. Fear gripped her; was the drastic act of stabbing the zanpakutou through her heart not enough? Where was he, where was that quiet presence?

So focused on regaining her breathing and so engulfed in her thoughts, she failed to register the faint light swiftly glow into existence.

"Hime-sama!"

Startled at the sudden shout of the familiar voice, she quickly turned her head to the other side to see Muramasa hover above her, his hands reaching slightly out as if to steady her. The quick movement was enough to give her head a terrible ache, but it was completely unnoticeable due to the rush of relief washing over her. Her eyes closed and a grin spread over her face. A weak laugh was heard, but it did not ease Muramasa. The sudden shout of his name was enough to make his heart stop. He thought something may have happened to her, but seeing as there was no one else in the room, he was left to wonder. He lifted himself, watching her calm her beating heart.

"You're safe..." She breathed. There was a faint sensation of tears coming and the familiar lump forming in her throat, but there was no need for them. Muramasa remained silent, waiting for her to compose herself and speak. In her hand the doll was held tightly in her grasp, wrinkling the clothing and straining the stitches. "I...thought you had...disappeared for good." She sighed as her nerves calmed and the panic began to slowly fade, replaced with heavy relief. She looked up at him, her smile turning small. "Are you ok now?" She asked.

For a moment he didn't respond, still trying to see if all was indeed well; the fright of her sudden call still ringing loud through his ears.

"Yes, all thanks to you of course." He said quietly, still wary. She took a moment to take in the meaning of the words and simply saying it was nothing would be a great understatement. Her smile never fell, but her eyes did close in happiness and her hands came together in a faint clap when they had let go of the doll.

"I'm so glad!" She sighed loudly. "I had thought it wouldn't work!" He only nodded in agreement, trying to figure out how it was possible himself. He didn't exactly know what to do at this point. The whole time he was worried over the actions of the shinigami, he found it hard to feel anything so ominous with her expression of happiness and relief at seeing that he was well compared to before. The scowl marred in his face was relaxed, leaving nothing but a blank look. He stared at her, remembering that one moment where he felt completely at peace; someone needed him it seems. She didn't want him to go; he was valued. She loved him. He reached out to her, his fingers touching gently under her chin to raise her head slightly. An expression of gentleness. Hazy, his memory was clouded. There was darkness he remembered, but her words were distorted.

Orihime looked at him with confusion, a faint blush rising, but she made no move to remove his hand or move away from it. He wanted to say something, but he was caught in his thinking; unsure. Worry came over her, so she placed a hand upon his own. It was cold.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, Muramasa said nothing as he took in the gesture of comfort.

"Your actions..." He didn't know how to go on about the simple question. Familiar territory, but at a distance, never to be ventured through. He struggled with the silent fear, afraid of these feelings that were so foreign. "What did it mean...to you?"

Orihime cocked her head slightly to the side, confused. "Ac...tions...?" He looked at her with a hard gaze, refusing to say anything further, she would see it soon. She noted the gesture again for a moment before finally getting what he meant. The kiss just before he faded and she fell asleep. The shade of the blush deepened, a detail that did not go unnoticed. "Ah...well it was...You know..." She moved her head again to face the side, her eyes purposely avoiding his gaze, speaking incomplete sentences.

"Unfortunately, my dear, I do not." He moved his finger again to move her gaze back to him. "I would like to know what you meant by it." Any uncertainty he had became demolished, it was only prolonging the inevitable. What did that kiss mean, he knew humans were different than hollows and shinigami though it wasn't precise as to how far the difference went. The kiss could have simply been used to calm him at such a disoriented state, could be a contract of some sort. Such things were known, but it was rare and not widely done. The one he knew was between lovers.

She laughed, catching him off guard that he dropped his hand and looked at her confused and slightly irritated.

"It was my answer!"

"Answer?" He could do nothing but blink at her, silently asking her to clarify. She nodded happily.

"Remember? You asked me: if you loved me, would I feel the same? That was my answer!" Muramasa only looked at her, still a little lost. She giggled at how seemingly funny it was to see him confused over these things not related to fighting. Instead of saying something right away, she came up to her feet carefully and wrapped her arms under his to hold his back in an embrace while his own arms were suspended in the air, not knowing if he should return the embrace. "It's what one does to another they love." She said softly, the blush fading.

His eyes widened at her words, a weight lifting. An inaudible sigh of relief. Carefully, slowly, he brought his arms to wrap over her shoulders to bring her a little closer. His eyes softened as he relished in the feeling of having her in his arms. His body becoming warm, the cold gone. They remained so for a few moments before Orihime decided to speak up.

"So..." She moved away to look into his eyes. "Does this mean that...I've become like Kurosaki-kun?" She asked shyly, finding the fact to be a bit difficult to believe, especially for one like her whose primary weapon were a pair of hairclips. The zanpakutou took a moment to contemplate this; technically she was correct, but that was what made him uncomfortable; she could be just like Ichigo, in more than just one way. He wondered if he would be able to keep that part of him at bay, for now though he would not trouble her with the matter; not now. He nodded again, seeing as it was no lie, but it was not the entire truth. She didn't seem to beam at the idea, but all that really mattered to her at the moment was that Muramasa was still with her and completely safe which was enough for her.

"Ah...but how will the others take to this?" She asked her face turning concerned as she moved away from him to sit back down on the couch.

"In truth, they are not happy about this at all."

Orihime sighed, she figured that such was the case given that Ichigo and Rukia were in a similar position because of her sharing her own power with him. However, this was not simply bowering a little bit of power, this was taking all of his power. All the abilities he had were now hers and perhaps as she grew in strength and wisdom, she would develope her own unique skills as a shinigami; that was the biggest difference and that was what worried Soul Society. It wasn't a matter of gaining this and learning that, it was the motivation behind it. The bonding could also be the explanation to her slight exhaustion as opposed to Ichigo feeling strengthened. A burden she accepted whole-heartedly and she certainly had no ill will towards anything, so it didn't make sense for them to feel threatened.

"What do you think they will do?" She asked, leaning her head back thoughtfully.

"I would suspect they would send a messenger to request a meeting soon if not use force." He looked away to glare at the window as if said person was standing just outside.

"What do you think we should do?"

"I think we should prepare ourselves." He said with a glare so cold, it reminded her of the time of the rebellion. A knock was heard from beyond her door.

"Already?" She whispered as she picked herself up from the couch to answer the door, her heart beating nervously. The door opened, but it wasn't a strange shinigami squad member, but Renji and even the Captain of the sixth devision, Byakuya Kuchiki. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, a great uneasiness settling in her gut.

"Kuchiki...san?"

"If you would not mind, Inoue, we would like for you to come to Soul Society along with your zanpakutou." He glanced at the transparent shadow that turned away, retreating back into the sword; his presence not needed at the moment. Orihime turned to glance at the quiet weapon, wondering if she should, but against a captain or two, she wouldn't last long.

"Okay." She invited them in for a moment so that she could change into suitable clothes. As they waited, Renji looked over at the hairpins that were next to the sword.

"Why don't we just take the blade and be done with it? Who knows what trouble he could cause later on!" He growled, feeling the urge to break the sword himself.

"Do not be a fool, he could easily manifest and push you away." He answered simply as he sat patiently, showing no kind of expression, not betraying anything. There was no way to see if he was upset of the news of the zanpakutou living or not. Renji sighed, scratching the back of his head angrily.

"Fine, I get it, but there's no way he'll manipulate my zanpakutou again!" He declared.

As if we'd get fooled again, idiot. The female remarked with a scoff.

What'd ya expect from an idiot like him? The snake hissed.

To at least have common sense.

"Hey, quiet both of you!" He shouted while they merely chuckled at his comical glare.

It was then Orihime emerged from the hall and said in a small voice that she was ready. After placing the pins to her hair and grabbing the sword, the three made their way outside and Orihime locked the door behind her.

"Ah... Does any of my friends know I'm going to Soul Society?" She asked awkwardly.

"Rukia will be there, but Kurosaki will be absent from the meeting."

"Why?" She asked, slightly alarmed that her friend would not be there to offer a bit of comfort.

"This is an issue only concerning Soul Society, his presence will not be needed; this is top secret. That blade is former property of the Kuchiki, therefore it is my responsibility for reigning him in."

The way he spoke those words made her blood run cold. "Reign in?" Her grip on the sword tightened as fear once again grasped her being, but simply hoping that someone would come to her rescue was childish. Muramasa was now her own, he was no longer a part of the Soul Societ, it would only be her that would get them out of this mess.

"What do have to say for yourself now, Muramasa?" Monkey asked. In the realm of the zanpakutou, she had her arms folded and a cold frown replacing the grin she usually wore.

"Nothing."

"Oh come on, you can't fool us anymore! Might as well tell us how you manipulated the girl to save your sorry butt." Snake sneered, slithering closer with the chains rattling loudly. A hostile snarl of a grin exposing two sharp fangs.

"Hey, hey! There's no need to start a fight! He hasn't done anything of the sort to Orihime-chan! Don't be such a bully!" From behind Muramasa the six fairies of Orihime's pins flew to hover between the two beings with Shun'o defending him.

"Tch, like we'd actually allow a chump like him to do anything iffy." Tsubaki growled, his arms folded across his chest, glaring angrliy at Snake who only glared back.

"How would we know? For all you know, he could have already hypnotized you and you don't even know it, fly!" With a flick of his covered finger he threw Tsubaki off balance, angering the fairy instantly.

"Why you little-" Before he could even think to lash out, another hand stopped him. "What?"

"Enough of your squabble. We have business to attend to, we don't need another useless fight." It was Senbonzakura who said this, stepping in from his own world to stop the fighting that would no doubt ensue if he let it be. Zabimaru only glared at him in annoyance, their glares unfazing him in the least.

"Whatever, he'll get whats coming to him sooner or later." The female sighed turning away to go back in Renji's inner world with Snake following close behind whining about his empty stomach.

Muramasa and the fairies looked over at Senbonzakura curiously, the glare never leaving his face as he waited for him to speak.

"I believe you are well aware that no one has forgiven you for your actions. You have caused quite a bit of trouble back in Soul Society with the sword beasts in a rampage." He said calmly, his expression hidden behind the mask he wore. "It won't be easy to gain favor from the Head Captain. By all accounts you should be dead."

"I am well aware of these facts. There is no need to state the obvious." He closed his eyes and looked away from him, his hands sliding back in his pockets. In all honesty he did feel guilty for his actions, but were they in his position he was sure they would do the same.

"There's no need to be all gloomy about it, Muramasa-san is not a bad guy!" Shun'o chirped happily.

Senbonzakura simply turned away to go back in his own world just as the other two had. "Perhaps for you he has done nothing, but for us he has hurt our pride as zanpakutou. Prepare yourself, Muramasa. Your master as she is now, would not be able to hold her ground should you both go against Yamamoto's final decision."

With that said he disappeared, leaving Muramasa to contemplate his words for a while. He glared at the still waters of his world, vaguely noting the subtle changes appearing such as the green vines rising from within the deep depths of the blue. She was beginning to influence him, but the buds of the flowers had yet to bloom fully. Orihime was not weak, but she had yet to fully grasp his powers and if things were to turn ugly it would be his fault if she got injured. They would soon arrive at their destination.

-X-X-X-

A/N: Oops, guess it isn't the last chap. But it's better than nothing, ne?