Love for the Lost and Broken
Author's Note: Yosh*! Thanks so much to my first three reviewers!
-geminigrl016
-Grimm-Inuoka004
-Rainbowlalaland
You three have made my day since I am currently battling with a monster cold. I send you much love and gratitude! Arigato*! Also in response to what geminigrl016 and Grimm-Inuoka004 said. Sorry about the italics; I had a format problem when I uploaded the story so I had to change some stuff around and it went a little screwy. My apologizes… I have fixed the problem! Second Chapter begins NOW!
"…"-Talking '…'-Thoughts (…)-Extra Info
*-Anything that I plan to explain at the end of the chapter. (Some *'s have numbers by them to help me keep track of them. Also, sometimes the thing I wish to elaborate on is part of a whole sentence so in order to make it easy to tell which part of the sentence I am talking about that part will be in bold and underlined along with the *. Some of them may not make sense but bear with me they will be explained at the end. (*'s next to foreign words don't have numbers; all word translations are in the Japanese Dictionary at the end of the chapter.)
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Tite Kubo; except the story line and my OC… OH! And my OC's Zanpakuto and it abilities! Those are mine also!
Chapter 2: House Occupants and Human Alarm Clocks
Bright blue eyes snapped open, clouded with both sleep and fear. The owner of those eyes bolted upright a moment later; his heart racing and his breath coming out in harsh gasps. His arms were shaking and his body was dripping with cold sweat. To stop his arms from shaking Muramasa was forced to rest his elbows against his knees. Muramasa buried his face in his hands a moment later as he tried to calm his rapid breathing. His body was hot and sticky; it was uncomfortable and he couldn't stand it anymore. Slowly and as quiet as a mouse Muramasa threw the bed covers off of himself before climbing to his feet. His bare feet made no sound as Muramasa closed the sliding door to his room before heading down the long, hardwood hallway.
Despite living smack in the middle of the Sonoma Valley out in California Masutātorikkusutā made sure that his four story billionaires' mansion was built to traditional Japanese housing standards. It was indeed an odd sight; an ancient looking sliding paper door and tatami tile house full of high-tech gadgets and American furniture. (Masutātorikkusutā called it "The most unique house in all of Sonoma.) Muramasa was slightly grateful for the familiar architecture; it made it a lot easier to find his way around. Quickly descending two flights of stairs to the living room on the ground floor Muramasa scanned the large space before finding the large sliding doors leading out into the side gardens.
Heading for the doors Muramasa was careful not to disturbed the sleeping form lying on the dark green, leather couch that sat against the far right wall of the living room. The figures' face was covered by a huge, indigo blanket that was tied and twisted around their whole body. Muramasa didn't need to see the persons' face to tell who it was however. Because the person was…
"SNORE!" snoring… "SNORE!" like a buffalo*1.
'Again… he's rattling the walls for goodness sakes.' Muramasa thought in annoyance as he glared momentarily at the noisy lump on the couch. The sleeping person of course took no notice of the dirty look being sent his way as he continued to make enough noise to wake even the dead. Muramasa rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to sigh out loud as he opened the sliding doors and stepped out onto the porch leaving the other man to his slumber. The porch was made of fine redwood and was built so that it wrapped around the whole mansion. Muramasa turned and headed to the left; he kept walking until he could no longer hear the earth-shattering snores coming through the thin paper walls. Once he was satisfied with the distance between himself and the obnoxious snoring machine*2Muramasa lowered himself to a sitting position, allowing his legs to hang over the edge of the redwood porch.
The night air was cool and Muramasa relished the feeling of it on his heated skin. 'Nightmares suck…' he mentally decided to himself as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. 'Hmm… now I sound like Masutātorikkusutā.' Eventually Muramasa's thoughts gravitated towards the horrific nightmare he had had not long before. He tried to make sense of it but every time he focused on what had occurred an image of a deranged, bloodthirsty Kouga flashed before his eyes. With a loud grunt of frustration Muramasa gave up on his attempt and decided to try and put the whole thing out of his mind altogether. However the harder he tried to forget it the harder it was to not think about. But what worried Muramasa the most was the part of the dream that his mind had become fixated on. The strange woman that had helped him; for some reason her image would not leave his brain for anything. The way she acted towards him, the way she treated him; so strange. It had been so vivid; he hasn't even sure if it was a dream anymore. "Your eye markings… they make you look sort of like a panda. Heehee!" The words that she had spoken to him reverberated off the inside of his head… and they confused him to no end. He couldn't understand why someone (in a dream no less) had said such an odd thing to him. "And… they make you look cute." That statement really threw Muramasa for a loop. And then that kiss…
It took a moment for Muramasa to realize that his face was heating up drastically; and once he did notice his eyes widened. He was blushing! Muramasa subconsciously rubbed his forehead in the same spot the mysterious woman from his dream had planted her sweet kiss before he was able to get control of his senses and shake the unwanted thoughts out of his mind. Still the images lingered and it took a lot of will-power for Muramasa to stay calm and not lash out at something out of sheer spite. Muramasa was so confused; the women had made him feel safe and protected in his dreams but now he felt only anger and frustration. Forcing the confusing thoughts out of his head Muramasa instead focused on the world around him.
The large mansion was situated at the base of a large hill and was completely surrounded by thousands of humongous, ancient redwood trees. Masutātorikkusutā had the place built in the center of the eight hundred and five acres of the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. (Muramasa wasn't completely aware of all the rules and laws in America but he was sure that it was illegal to build a house on state owned property. He even asked Masutātorikkusutā about it once but said man had only smile slyly and said ("That may be true, or it may not be true… But no one has reported me of a crime yet.") Muramasa didn't mention it after that. In Muramasa's opinion such an idea was absolutely idiotic; but seeing as how he himself was living in the 'technically illegal house' he couldn't really complain much.
The wind had picked up, sending a smooth gust of wind through the valley. The wind blew across the porch and through Muramasa's dark brown locks; the strands of hair became tangled as the wind swept then up and around Muramasa's face. He brushed the strands of hair back into their original place as the wind died back down. The wind had carried the smell of the redwood trees that surrounded the mansion and… smoke? Smoke was definitely not a good thing in the middle of a forest. Swiftly Muramasa rose to his feet and stepped off the porch into the lush gardens of the mansion's courtyard and headed in the direction the smoky smell was emanating from. Even in the darkness Muramasa was able to navigate through the gardens with ease; his bare feet tingled as they made contact with the dew soaked ground as he walked through the array of different flowers and plants from every corner of the world. Although the true beauty of the gardens was hidden under the shroud of night Muramasa had seen the gardens at their full splendor under the light of day.
Continuing to follow the smell of smoke Muramasa eventually can to the area of the gardens that Masutātorikkusutā referred to as "The Training Grounds". He saw that the smoke was in fact coming from several lit torches set up around the perimeter of the empty field. Well, the field was not entirely empty. Standing in the center of the field was the unmistakably tall figure of Masutātorikkusutā. Said man was dressed in his normal sleepwear; an oversized black t-shirt and dark grey sweatpants. For someone who didn't know him all that well they would think that Masutātorikkusutā was a complete loon for running around in the dark for no reason. However Muramasa was someone who did know Masutātorikkusutā quite well and was able to tell what the man was doing right away…training.
Masutātorikkusutā never did seem to have a good sense of time; no matter what time of day or night it was if he decided he wanted to train then he would do just that. So here the man stood; face blank and body poised. In his left hand*3 was his zanpakuto; Kyōfu no sakebi*. Masutātorikkusutā had never admitted to it but Muramasa knew that he was a Soul Reaper or had been a Soul Reaper at some point. In the two years spent in Masutātorikkusutā's company Muramasa had never seen the other man have any sort of contact with Soul Society. Whether he had been banished from Soul Society or not Masutātorikkusutā was a Soul Reaper who easily held a skill level comparable to a captain.
He began to move; swift and flowing moments; swordplay was after all simply a dance of blades. Back and forth his hands and feet moved, in perfect balance and harmony. Masutātorikkusutā was indeed a master swordsman; Muramasa could not fathom why such a skilled and dedicated Soul Reaper had nothing to do with Soul Society. Muramasa had lost count of the hollows that had been destroyed by Masutātorikkusutā's hand. (Muramasa wasn't even aware there were hollows anywhere other than Japan and Hueco Mundo but they seemed to gravitate to American as well.)
A pause; Masutātorikkusutā sheathed his zanpakuto before unsheathing a different one. Muramasa didn't pay this one much attention; he already knew the sword well *4. Again the former Soul Reaper's moments were flawless and mesmerizing; not a step or blade stroke out of place. Masutātorikkusutā quickly got bored of simply slicing through air however and ended his training within the hour sheathing his second zanpakuto before moving to blow out the torches. Muramasa had still not made his presence known at this point and had been planning on simply returning to his room and attempting to get a few more hours of sleep in before morning. However fate had other plans as Masutātorikkusutā smashed his left foot into a large rock as he had been moving to extinguish one of the torches.
"SHIT MY DAMN FOOT!"
Well… everyone from there to Baja would be awake now.
Muramasa tried hard to remain silent but the sight of Masutātorikkusutā floundering around on one foot and falling on his ass while trying to hold onto his injured foot was too much and Muramasa couldn't help but snicker loudly. He tried to be quiet but his efforts failed as Muramasa heard the deep, barrel-like voice of Masutātorikkusutā call out.
"It is rude to laugh at the pain of others." The injured man stated as he glared in the direction he had heard the noise from. "Gomennasi…*" Muramasa replied while still trying not to openly laugh. "Humph!" Masutātorikkusutā was annoyed, but not too much; if it had been someone else in his situation he would have been laughing too. Getting to his feet the Ex-Soul Reaper slowly hobbled over to the koi pond he had had built to maintain the Japanese feel of the mansion and sat down on a low beach near the water's edge.
Clamping his mouth shut quickly Muramasa returned to his normal, stoic self as he walked over to Masutātorikkusutā and sat down on a large rock at the edge of the koi pond. The two were sitting almost directly across from one another. Muramasa had his back facing the pond and Masutātorikkusutā was facing towards Muramasa. Lifting his head from his aching foot the black haired man glared daggers at Muramasa, his purple eyes looking almost black in the glowing torch light.
"You know what…I could kick you right off that rock and your tail would be in that water before you'd be able to blink."
The threat was an empty one; Masutātorikkusutā didn't threaten anyone unless they made him boiling mad. (This was nearly impossible to do.) Such things were just Masutātorikkusutā's way of poking fun; so Muramasa decided to poke back.
"That is true… but if you did that; you may loss that foot of yours altogether."
Masutātorikkusutā gave a look of mock horror, cradling his now red and black colored foot as though he really would lose it*5. Muramasa rolled his eyes as Masutātorikkusutā broke out into his deep, rolling laughter. After his laughing fit ended Masutātorikkusutā turned and spoke again to Muramasa.
"So what are you doing up this late bro?"
(Bro… Masutātorikkusutā's name for just about everyone.)
"I was unable to sleep…" "Really? Why is that?"
"There is no reason, I just couldn't sleep."
Masutātorikkusutā looked at the blue eyed man critically for a moment; he knew that Muramasa had just lied to him but by the way he had spoken it was clear that the other man didn't really want to be bothered with it at all. Masutātorikkusutā really wanted to pry the truth out of Muramasa but he decided against it and dropped the subject.
"Then you should try and return to your slumber; it's almost four in the morning."
"And perhaps you should do the same."
"Hmm… No, I don't think so; my resent training session was woken me up too much to return to bed."
"You're going to be exhausted all day tomorrow Masutā."
"So will you, Masa-san."
(Muramasa quickly decided that "Masa-san" was no better than "Bro".)
Bright blue eyes seared into amused purple ones as Masutātorikkusutā rose from the bench he had just been resting on. He took a moment to stretch before reaching his hand out to Muramasa. Muramasa eyed the taller man for a minute before accepting the offer. Once Masutātorikkusutā had a firm grip on Muramasa's hand he yanked the smaller man all the way to his feet in one hard tug.*6 Muramasa almost lost his balance from the force of the pull and was momentarily worried that Masutātorikkusutā had dislocated his shoulder. With a soft chuckle Masutātorikkusutā released the other man's hand and returned to the task of blowing out the torches.
Once all the lights had been dimmed both Masutātorikkusutā and Muramasa headed out of the dark gardens and towards the sliding doors leading back into the living room. The lump on the couch hadn't moved an inch and was still…
"SNORE!"…snoring.
"Gods he's louder than an elephant." Masutātorikkusutā complained to Muramasa as they both stared at the noisy couch lump.
"Mmhmm…" Muramasa muttered in agreement wondering how the man could be so loud and not wake himself up.
In an instant Masutātorikkusutā had grabbed one of the fuzzy, green pillows from off the floor and crept up to the slumbering figure with the stealth of a cheetah.
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm just gonna keep him from breathing long enough to wake his sorry ass up."
(Muramasa could practically see the devil horns and tail sprouting out of Masutātorikkusutā's body.) Muramasa turned on his heel and quickly headed up the stairs before the sleeping figure was awoken and began cursing like there was no tomorrow.
Muramasa stared at the digital alarm clock on the desk in his room. The red neon light flashed the time 3:42 A.M back up at him. He scowled at the red numbers before climbing under the dark-purple sheets of his bed and burying his head into one of the soft pillows. He was going to be dog tired all day tomorrow and he knew it. Thankfully he was able to fall asleep rather quickly. The last thought Muramasa had before sleep overtook his senses was simple…'No more dreams tonight…'
Something was poking him in the side… and Muramasa didn't take to kindly to being poked. He was lying on his left side with his back facing the door and was sleeping soundly until the poking started. Whatever was poking him was very persistent and kept it up, jabbing Muramasa over and over again in the ribs on his right side. Getting fed up with it Muramasa rolled to the right so that he was lying on his stomach and out of the reach of the poker. However the poking continued, this time on the left side of his rib-cage. He rolled over again to rest on his back; Muramasa was fully awake by now but he still refused to open his eyes and address who or whatever was screwing with him. Another poke; on the left side again.
"Cut it out…" Muramasa growled out before rolling to the right once more… right off the side of the mattress.
A loud grunt was heard as Muramasa collided face first with the hard, oak floor. "Oh…Ouch! That looks like it may have hurt a bit."
Muramasa didn't move; he wasn't really hurt but he refused to get up. 'If this is your idea of a joke Masutātorikkusutā it is not funny.' Muramasa thought groggily. The covers from his bed had fallen with him and they were wrapped around his body from the fall. At that moment Muramasa's human alarm clock*7 walked over and stared to shake the fallen man's shoulder.
"HEY! Muramasa, you got to get up bro!" "Why…?"
"What do you mean 'why'? Cause I said so; duh!" "That isn't an answer…"
"Get up bro! We got to get a move on! "Ugh… What time is it?"
"Get up and look for yourself!" "You are useless sometimes; you know that?"
"Thank-you!" "That wasn't a compliment…"
"Thank-you anyways!" "Be quiet!"
Finally giving in Muramasa lifted himself off the floor but only enough to see what time it was since Masutātorikkusutā had failed to answer him earlier. Muramasa's eyes looked like they wanted to pop right out of his skull then he saw the alarm clock; 5:07 it read. 'Masutātorikkusutā is out of his mind if he thinks I'm getting up and doing anything at a time like this. I haven't even been back asleep for much more than an hour.' With this thought in mind Muramasa lowered himself back onto the floor, pulled the fallen sheets over his head.
"It's five in the morning Masutā I'm not getting up at such an ungodly time."
"Don't be so stubborn Muramasa; you have to get up… seriously."
"No… go and bug someone else."
"Ack! You're impossible sometimes you know that!"
"…" "Muramasa…?" "…" "Muramasa!" "…" "I know you can hear me damn it!"
"…" "Fine! I'll be back in twenty minutes; if you aren't up by then I'll make you get up! "Masutātorikkusutā huffed before stomping out of the room and down the hall.
Muramasa couldn't help but smirk in victory; normally Masutātorikkusutā would pester someone until he succeeded at his task. Muramasa wasn't sure if he should be grateful or concerned at the odd change in Masutātorikkusutā's usually unwavering will-power. Muramasa's thoughts were interrupted as he opened his mouth wide to let lose a long yawn. The yawn reminded him that he had been quite rudely awakened after getting only about five hours of sleep total and was incredibly tried at the moment. 'I'm going back to sleep…' Muramasa thought as he rested his head on a section of the sheets that were wrapped around him. (He didn't even bother to pick himself up off the floor he was so tried.) In seconds Muramasa's breathing had evened out indicating that he was once again asleep.
Masutātorikkusutā's POV
'Geez… why does Muramasa have to be such a pain in the ass sometimes?' I wondered to myself as I walked into my private study on the fourth floor in the west end of my lovely home.
"You weren't helping the situation too much Kusutā."
"Hush up Kyōfu … you're just as bad."
"Perhaps it is fate that you and your zanpaukto's have such strong will-powers…"
"Whatever you say Kyōfu…"
Kyōfu…always putting in his opinion. Of course he is my zanpakuto therefore a part of my own soul so whatever he says is part of my thoughts as well.
"Exactly so…"
Yes indeed; but in truth I don't mind the input of my zanpakuto; after all we have been partners for over five hundred years. 'Wow… saying it makes me feel really old.' " But I have heard that age equals experience (in most cases.)" I spoke to the walls since no one else is here at the moment; (other than Kyōfu.) Refocusingon my current task I walked to my desk and collected all the items I needed. "Hmm…passports, cash, I-pod for the plane ride, sunglasses, brass knuckles*8, and my bags are in the living room; that should be everything" I was totally excited; I may take this trip once every year but I always love it and wish I could hang there longer. Nihon*…the land of the rising sun; I love it. Every year me and my band; The Shameless Souls*9 fly out to Japan and play this huge concert. Not the most uncommon thing to play a show in Japan; right? Wrong! I don't play a show in the big cities like Tokyo or anywhere like that; no I play in the place that means the most to me. My old home town… Before I moved to Cali I lived in a small town almost three hours away from Tokyo. I loved it there and so every year when school gets out at the end of May my band and I head out and jam right in my old home town. We've been doing it for almost ten years know and the event has gotten so big that the high school system's actually let all the students out early on the last day of school to let them get ready for the show.
It's really sweet and this year is going to be the best show yet! However… the show can't be played if all the members of the band aren't there; which is way I need Muramasa to wake his tail up right now. It's sorta funny cause two years ago I never thought that he would be the bass player in the gang but he does a good job at it. I still remember how hard it was to get the guy to even speak. But he has to start moving… I may own a private jet but it still had to leave the airport on time to keep on schedule. With a sigh I slipped my cash, I-pod, and brass knuckles into my jacket pockets. I shoved the passports into my jeans pocket and sat the sunglasses on the top of my head. "That's everything!" I cry in victory.
"No it isn't; you forgot about me!"
"Whoops! My bad!"
"Really!"
"Sorry! It's just that we always talk to each other and I forget that I don't always have you with me."
Quickly I moved to a large wall covered in numerous amounts of weapons ranging from katana's to knifes and even a few sickles. All the weapons here were weapons that I had bought or acquired over the years. But there is a section of this walls that is completely bare aside from two katana's; my zanpakuto's. I removed both of them from the supports on the wall and tied them across my back. 'Alright; now back to getting Muramasa up.'
Normal POV
Twenty minutes passed by quickly and true to his word Masutātorikkusutā had returned to awaken Muramasa for the second time that morning. He found said man in the same place he had left him. Masutātorikkusutā greatly wished in that moment that he had a camera with him to get a few pictures of Muramasa actually sleeping on the floor. Instead of shaking the poor man as he had done before Masutātorikkusutā hollered are Muramasa to 'get his ass up'. Muramasa didn't hear him however and continued to sleep without a care in the world. Suddenly Masutātorikkusutā's face brightened as an idea came to him. "Light Bulb…*10"
Masutātorikkusutā grabbed a corner of the bed sheets that were wrapped around Muramasa and began pulled on them being careful not to wake him up. Masutātorikkusutā had enhanced strength like all Shinigami do but he was even stronger than most Soul Reapers because of his abnormally high reiatsu. So it was not difficult for him to haul a sleeping Muramasa down the hall to the edge of the steps. ([: o) Grinning like a psycho Masutātorikkusutā poked Muramasa hard in the stomach.
"Muramasa…" He whispered. "Huh…?"
"Get up bro…" "Go away…"
"Wrong answer…" "Don't care…go away."
"You were warned!"
Masutātorikkusutā grabbed the sheets again and pulled them over his shoulder as him started his decent down the steps. Muramasa was dragged behind him down the steps; hitting each one on the way down the two flights of stairs. Once Muramasa had hit the ground floor he was fully awake and madder than hell. (If his body had still contained any hollow reiatsu his eyes would have been glowing blood red at this point.)
"So are you awake now…Muramasa?"
Muramasa didn't speak; he was pissed and also very glad that those two flights of stairs weren't very high or it would have really sucked. Looking up he saw Masutātorikkusutā hovering over him with a look that could only be described as a mix of amusement and some other emotion that probably had no logical rhyme or reason to it.
"I told you to get up but you didn't listen to me; no one ever listens to ol' Masutātorikkusutā."
At this point Masutātorikkusutā had turned his head upwards and was waving his arms around like a spaz. Muramasa was still plastered to the floor and was eyeing Masutātorikkusutā so intently that it looked as though said man's head would spontaneously combust at any moment. Instead of waiting for the flames to engulf the other man's head Muramasa grabbed his ankle and yanked. Masutātorikkusutā was paying no attention to Muramasa so didn't even realize what was going on until he was thrown off balance and ended up falling flat on his back and smacking his head hard on the wood floor. Masutātorikkusutā's head was so hard that it sounded as though someone had dropped a bowling ball on the floor.
"SON OF A BITCH!"
Several more shouts of pain filled with more vulgar words followed shortly behind this one. Masutātorikkusutā was log rolling across the living room floor clutching the back of his head in a vice grip and continued to scream and holler bloody murder. He continued to roll around on the floor like an idiot eventually rolling out of the living room and into the ultra-modern kitchen where he finally stopped acting like a drunk roly-poly*11 and just laid still on the light grey tiles of the kitchen floor. Muramasa; satisfied that Masutātorikkusutā was in enough pain at the moment picked himself up off the floor and walked into the kitchen to see how his antagonizer was fairing with his pain.
He found Masutātorikkusutā spread eagle style on the kitchen floor; his eyes were rolled into the back of his head and there was a line of drool running out on his mouth on the right side. Muramasa rolled his eyes at the other man's foolishness before walking over to said man and leaning over him.
"Hey Masutā you awake?" Muramasa asked with a hint of mockery in his voice.
Masutātorikkusutā made several gurgling sounds but said nothing coherent. Standing up fully Muramasa made a move to get to the kitchen door; but before he made it Masutātorikkusutā hopped off the floor and proceeded to trap Muramasa in a headlock. The two struggled across the kitchen tiles for several minutes all the while cursing and clawing at one another. Masutātorikkusutā wasn't really doing any harm but Muramasa was getting tired of the whole thing quickly. Before Muramasa was able to release Masutātorikkusutā's hold on him a string of laughter was heard that echoed throughout the kitchen. Muramasa and Masutātorikkusutā stopped their tussling and looked in the direction the laughing had originated.
Turning they saw that the person laughing was another of Masutātorikkusutā's "House Guests"; Shiba Kaien. Masutātorikkusutā released Muramasa and walked over to Kaien who was sitting at one of the kitchen bar stools and smacked him in the back of the head.
"OUCH! What the hell was that for?" Kaien asked rubbing he head as he's aqua green eyes glared into Masutātorikkusutā's purple ones.
"For being a dumb ass…" Masutātorikkusutā stated in a deadpanned voice.
"Why you…" "What? I'm right?" "Zip it Masutā!" "Whatever…"
Muramasa sighed; those two were at it again. They acted like they hated each other part of the time and the rest of the time think were the best of buddies. Muramasa figured it was because they behaved some much alike that it was scary sometimes. Muramasa didn't know all that much about Kaien's past because he never really spoke about it but he knew that he too had been a shinigami like Masutātorikkusutā.
"Hey! Muramasa!"
Blinking Muramasa returned his attention to Masutātorikkusutā who had just spoken to him. Masutātorikkusutā had moved away from Kaien and now stood next to the granite counter tops holding what appeared to be a cartoon of eggs in one hand and a package of beacon in the other.
"Breakfast…?" Masutātorikkusutā asked.
Crossing his arms Muramasa glared at the taller man in annoyance.
"Is that your way of trying to make up for being an ass and dragging me down the stairs."
"Yes… you could say that. Is it working?"
"Maybe…" "So that's a yes to breakfast then?" "Fine…"
"Righto!"
'Suck up…' Muramasa thought as he moved to the other side of the kitchen table and sat down. He sat across from Kaien who had returned to drinking a glass of what looked like apple juice. Kaien was still pissed at Masutātorikkusutā though and scowled at said man as he rummaged through the refrigerator for heaven knows what. Muramasa wondered why Kaien was up this early, hell; most of the time he would stay up all night and sleep till midafternoon or later. He hadn't been up long however because unlike Masutātorikkusutā who was already dressed for the day Kaien was still in his night ware; black basketball shorts and a black t-shirt with the Shiba clan symbol stamped across the front in white. With a scowl Muramasa realized that he too was still in his night ware; and one thing that he never did was walk around in p-j's. 'Damn it Masutātorikkusutā.' he mentally complained before his thoughts were interrupted.
"Me thinks I smells beacon."
Kaien, Muramasa, and Masutātorikkusutā all looked up to see the last two of their housemate's descending the stairs.
Ichimaru Gin...
… and Kaname Tousen
"You are correct my friend." Masutātorikkusutā stated as Gin walked up to him.
"In that cause…" the fox man replied reaching for a strip of cooked beacon lying on a platter; "…me thinks that I deserves a lil' reward."
A resounding WHACK!was heard as Masutātorikkusutā smacked Gin's hand away with a wooden spoon.
"Wait til the whole meal is done you greedy fox!"Masutātorikkusutā snapped at Gin as said man rubbed the top of his hand which now had a big red mark on it.
"Geez, fine but you knows you didn't needs to go and hits me like that Sutāto." Gin said as he retreated to the safety of the table to sit next to Kaien.
"Ha-ha! Great show Gin; Masutā wacked you good! Hahaha!" Kaien laughed at Gin's misfortune.
"Huh? What does you thinks you laughin' bout? Sutāto smacked you round just a second ago's too." Gin retorted.
"W-Well…" Kaien stuttered as his face colored at the fact that Gin had seen Masutātorikkusutā nearly give him whiplash a few moments before.
"Ah so Sutāto did give you's a good whack did he?"
"Sh-Shut Up!" Kaien hollered turning to face Gin with his fist raised.
"Why's that?" "Because I said so!"
"Oh…Is zat right; well you's is gonna have to make me shut's my mouth."
"Then I will!" Kaien declared loudly
"Both of you be quiet; you're loud enough to annoy a deaf person." Came the calm voice of Tousen who had moved to stand on the opposite side of the table from Gin and Kaien next to Muramasa.
"Indeed…" Masutātorikkusutā agreed as he began to crack several eggs into a pan a scramble them.
Both Gin and Kaien shut their mouths; Gin's face remained set in a wide grin where as Kaien's youthful face contorted into a deep frown of annoyance. Muramasa had remained completely silent up until now. He had lived with Masutātorikkusutā and Kaien for just over two years now and Gin and Tousen for one year but he still felt a bit like the odd man out in the group. Being the only one of the five who was a zanpakuto made Muramasa feel like a fish out of water. But it wasn't all that bad; they all got along well with each other even if Kaien did get on his nerves sometimes and Gin freaked him out a bit. Masutātorikkusutā was of course his closest companion out of the four and had the great knack for being both a pain in the ass as well as a good friend. He had no problems with Tousen but both Gin and Masutātorikkusutā had commented that he and Tousen were a lot alike in that they were "So serious and uptight…" Muramasa always ignored such comments however and he wasn't really sure how true the statements were.
"Breakfast is served…" Masutātorikkusutā stated using a horrid sounding English accent.
Eggs, beacon, toast, and sausage, were all spread out on the table. Gin and Kaien immediately started drooling like a couple of bull dogs. They both filled their plates up at lightning speed and proceeded to devour their food with table manners from hell. Muramasa rolled his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time in only a few hours and Tousen simply walked to the counter that held the coffee machine to pour himself a cup and avoid the terrible manners of his companions. Masutātorikkusutā soon took notice of the behavior of two of his house guests and stopped them from their foolish actions by walking up behind them and shoved their heads down into the table top.
"Hey now; what's you thinks you doin' Sutāto?" Gin asked with a bit of difficultly since his cheek was being smacked against the counter.
"Stopping you two from acting like a couple of pigs." Masutātorikkusutā stated simply.
"Yoth stuit fuakor lite uth gotd!" Kaien stated (Or tried to since his mouth was jammed against the table.)
"What!" Masutātorikkusutā questioned.
"Me thinks he said, 'You stupid fucker let us go.' but I isn't completely sure's." Gin offered.
"Oh...Hey watch it boy!" Masutātorikkusutā hollered putting more pressure on the back of Kaien's head.
"Watch your mouth my friend." Masutātorikkusutā stated dangerously. "And act like human beings when you eat."
Masutātorikkusutā released Gin and Kaien and they both continued to eat but in a much more civilized manner. Muramasa glanced at Tousen and saw that he was actually grinning at Masutātorikkusutā's actions from behind his coffee cup. 'It's going to be a long day…' Muramasa thought to himself as he ate. Masutātorikkusutā exited the kitchen for a moment and returned with several suitcases much to Muramasa's confusion. Gin, Tousen, and Kaien all seemed to know what was going on however.
"That time of year again?" Kaien asked; his voice filled with excitement.
"Yes…Yes it is." Masutātorikkusutā answered.
"Sweet!" Kaien remarked.
"So what is the plan for this trip of ours?" Tousen asked quietly.
"The first group heads out today and holds down the fort for about a week and a half. Then the next group packs the gear and heads out and rendezvous' with the first group."
'What on earth is he talking about now?' Muramasa wondered to himself.
"That's all well and great; but what's gonna happen if we gets ourselves caught?" Gin asked actually sounding a bit concerned.
"Don't be a chicken about everything Gin!" Kaien butted in.
"I isn't bein' a chicken…I'm jusy sayin' that ol' Sutāto here got's to be care if he's a goin' into da heart of Soul Reaper country." Gin retorted.
"Not to worry my foxy friend; if trouble arises I can handle it easy." Masutātorikkusutā stated as he flashed a wide, toothy grin.
"What the hell are you people talking about?" Muramasa finally voiced what he had been thinking for the past few minutes.
"What do you mean 'what am I talking about'." Masutātorikkusutā demanded.
"What are you talking about…?" Muramasa repeated again.
"Ahh… I've already explained this once before!" Masutātorikkusutā hollered in mild exasperation.
Reaching into one of his pockets Masutātorikkusutā pulled out a neatly rolled piece of paper and tossed it across the table in Muramasa's direction. Muramasa unrolled the piece of paper and quickly read it. It was an advertisement for a concert; one being performed by Masutātorikkusutā's band. 'So that includes me I guess.' Muramasa thought as he noticed the date at the bottom; May 29th.
"I do remember this actually." Muramasa said.
"Excellent!" Masutātorikkusutā cried in victory.
"However the concert is on the 29th and today is only the 15th." Muramasa stated.
"Yeah so…" Masutātorikkusutā asked not getting the point.
"So way are you doing all the way out to Nihon* two weeks early?" Muramasa asked as though he were speaking to a four year old.
"Well… I have an old friend of mine who lives in my old home town which is where the concert is going down. We haven't seen each other in a long time so I figured I would head out early and hang with her awhile before we have to play the show."
"HER!" Kaien screamed; his voice going up about five octaves.
"Don't even think about it." Masutātorikkusutā warned quickly before Kaien could even think of finishing his thoughts.
"Well have fun with that." Muramasa said.
"I'm not going alone genius." Masutātorikkusutā interjected.
"Oh? Then who is going with you?" Muramasa questioned.
"Why do you think I had you get up so early?" Masutātorikkusutā asked as he threw his hands up in the air.
"Huh?" Muramasa questioned again still not getting it.
"Baka*! You're the one who's coming with me!"
Author's note:
*-Japanese Dictionary
Gomennasi- Sorry
Kyōfu no sakebi- The name of Masutātorikkusutā's zanpakuto. It means 'Screaming Terror'.
Nihon-the Japanese word for Japan (seriously they call Japan nihon in Japan; weird right?)
Baka- Idiot
Yosh- prefect (or awesome in my personal translation!)
Arigato- Thank-you
*1- I say this because my parents remind me of buffalo's when they snore and it's hilarious. BTW: Kaien was the one snoring and I have always thought of him as a person would be really loud and roll around in their sleep.:)
*2- Another name for my parents when they are snoring so loud.
*3- Ok; there is a reason I took the time to mention that Masutātorikkusutā is left handed. Here it is…
So of all the soul reapers in bleach that have been named so far (about 96 of them) 54 of them have zanpakuto's who's abilities we do not know and have not seen. This leaves 42 shinigami with zanpakuto's whose powers we have seen or know about. And of those 42 individuals only 4 have been shown to be left handed. All soul reapers hold their swords with both hands at some point but you will also see them swing their swords with one hand as well. That is the hand that they favor and most likely use to write and things like that. It surprised me that the ratio between left and right handed soul reapers was 38 to 4. So I decided to make Masutātorikkusutā left handed. (I am not counting Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake as left handed since they technically have two swords instead of one and it is hard to tell which hand is the dominate one.)
*4- What does Muramasa mean by that? Well I won't tell you now because it will spoil it but you may guess to my in a review if you like. I shall thank you much if you guess correctly; you should be able to get if you pay attention.
*5-Personal experience right here; I dropped something super heavy on my foot and then my brother started to freak me out cause he said it was all black and purple and that it would have to be cut off. I almost cried because I really thought I would lose my foot. Then my mom told me that my brother was lying and I slapped him in the jaw. :P
*6- Another personal experience; apparently I am so strong that I can almost yank someone's arm out of its socket in one tug. The people I help up say it all the time.
*7- It is part of the title for a reason. I can't wake up to an alarm clock so my mom acts as my human alarm clock instead. :p
*8- I have a brass knuckle, like a legit one. So I let Masutātorikkusutā borrow them for the story. (Remember them they came in later on.)
*9- I came up with this name and I liked it so it stayed. I do not thank that any band called this exists so I should be good. If a band with this name does exist then I do not own them or their songs in any way, shape, or form.
*10- Despicable Me reference! I love that movie! (I do not own it though; wish I did.)
*11- Funny story; so my family was at a party and someone spilled their beer in the yard. Ten minutes later my brother calls me over and says "Look at these Roly-Polies!" I thought he was crazy but as I looked I realized that the Roly-Polies had been covered in the spilled alcohol and were actually staggering about like a drunken person. Funny as hell; my brother and I watched them for a whole hour!
This chapter is sort of long in my opinion; my writing teacher has told my before that I need to add more detail to my writing so I'm playing around with that. But I wanted to explain and introduce the other characters in this chapter and how they interact with each other. I knew I was going to add more characters but it took a long time to decide who would be in 'The Gang' as I call them.
However all the people in the group are alike in that the world believes them to be dead but they aren't.
Also; if you didn't catch on Masutātorikkusutā has a total of three nicknames.
Most people either call him by his full name or Masutā.
His Zanpakuto calls him Kusutā however and Gin calls him Sutāto all of which are just different parts of his name. There is no real reason for this it is just something they do.
Also I hope no one minds the way I had Gin talk. If you every read the english subs for the oringinal Japanese episodes the words are alot like that so I thought I would see how it worked. (Personally I think it's cute:)
Ok Important Info: I am having a problem with my time line that I originally set up for the story so here is a clearer version. My story begins a year after the defeat of Aizen in the Winter War. Muramasa has been living with Masutātorikkusutā for two years; a year before and after Aizen's defeat. Gin and Tousen have been around for one year because Aizen killed both of them on the day he invaded Karakura Town. Kaien has been with Masutātorikkusutā the longest time which is about ten years in the human world. However the official time skip in the Bleach series after the defeat of Aizen is 17 months. So while my story does take place after Aizen's defeat it does not take place after the complete time skip. Sorry for any confusions.
Also before anyone asks; "But Kaien was only killed shortly before Aizen invaded Karakura Town so how could he have been with Masutātorikkusutā for ten years?"
Here is my theory; when Kaien's body was burned and ended up in Hueco Mundo it was still beingcontrolled by the hollow that had been inside of him before. However in order to survive the hollow knew that it had to keep moving from creature to creature in order to get stronger so it could defend itself. So at some point the hollow transferred from Kaien's body into another but still retained part of Kaien's essence (his soul reaper powers, memories, etc.). So without a driving force behind it Kaien's body (which was no longer living because it had no soul) was dead. However in Hueco Mundo there are still plenty of hollows that would have gone after the body. However Masutātorikkusutā who had left Soul Society long before Kaien's time found the body and restored its soul. And Kaien would have been with Masutātorikkusutā since then (about ten years in the human world.) Then when the 9th espada was born he absorbed the hollow that had absorbed Kaien and gained both of their abilities and memories. This was how he fought with Rukia and was able to toy with her mind. But the 9th espada was not really Kaien he just took on that form for his fight with Rukia so that the battle would be in his favor. Masutātorikkusutā would have also revived Gin, Tousen and Muramasa in the same way he did Kaien. And the resurrection would have healed any damage done to the bodies or any natural deformities. Which in Tousen's case would basically mean that he is no longer blind (which in my story he is not just FWI.) And for Muramasa it would mean all the hollow reiatsu he absorbed would be removed and the damage it caused to his body would also be healed. (This is just a theory I came up with for this story; it has no real credibility I just came up with it to help explain the time gaps.)
Last Thing:
Ok so I wanted to explain the appearance of Masutātorikkusutā's zanpakuto and its abilities in the story but I never found a good place to put it. So I'm putting it right here!
In its sealed state Kyōfu no sakebi takes the form of a standard katana.
The sheath is a pitch black color with a blood red strip of cloth tied around it so that Masutātorikkusutā can carry it around.
Masutātorikkusutā is left handed so the handle of the blade rests on his right shoulder and the sword crosses his back so that the end of the sheath rests above his left hip. His other Zanpakuto crosses his back in the opposite direction (I can't tell you about this sword right now but I will say that its sheath is a dark read and it is tied to Masutātorikkusutā's back with a dark purple strip of cloth; that should be good enough info for now.)
The guard is shaped like a triangle and each of the points has a prong-like extension that comes out about two inches from the guard itself. Both the guard and blade collar (the thin sheet of metal the wraps around the sword just above the guard at the end of the blade) are gold in color.
The blade is straight except for just above the blade collar. Above the blade collar the sword jets out in three places to form a serrated patch in the sword. The three points stick out about three inches from the rest of the blade and because of them Masutātorikkusutā has a small section of the sheath for the blade cut out so the blade can rest easily in the scabbard.
The Ray Skin which is the part of the hilt that is under the core warp on the hilt is black in color.
Unlike most Zanpakuto's that only have one color of cord wrap on the hilt Kyōfu no sakebi was two different colored cord wraps. One is green and the other is red; they both wrap around the hilt in a spiral so that the underlying Ray Skin cannot be seen like on most other Zanpakuto's.
The pommel or bottom flat part of the hilt has two small prongs on it that stick out from the pommel in 45 degree angles and they both resemble bat wings.
Shikai State:
The command Masutātorikkusutā uses to enter Skikai mode is Karera no tame ni dai koewoageru: Kyōfu no sakebi which would be roughly translated asHoller For Them: Screaming Terror.
The form of the Zanpakuto would change from a normal katana into a sword that would be close to the size of the Skikai form of Ichigo's Zangetsu. Unlike Zangetsu however the back edge of Kyōfu no sakebi's blade would not be straight. Instead it would curve like a normal katana would.
The prongs of the triangle guard would grow to be a foot long and instead of sticking straight out they would curve up until they were parallel with the blade. The blade collar would change colors to black but the guard would remain gold.
The three serrated points on the blade would become six inches long and change shape slightly. The first one would curve til the tip was parallel with the rest of the blade and the last one would curve til it was parallel with the hilt. The middle one would still stay straight.
The hilt would be the same except that the two bat wings on the pommel would come together and form a pike about four inches long; the pike would stick straight out of the pommel and could be used to stab someone. In Shikai the green and red cords on the hilt extend to form a green and red tassel that hangs part the hilt of the sword about two feet.
Shikai Powers:
Masutātorikkusutā and Kyōfu no sakebi have an incredible close relationship as Soul Reaper and Zanpakuto. Like with all Soul Reapers Masutātorikkusutā has trained extensively with his zanpakuto and has mastered four different shikai techniques.
The first is Ōgoe: Kyōfu no sakebi which mean Holler: Screaming Terror
Kyōfu no sakebi will emit a series of high pitched noises in fast section. Every person has a frequency of sound that they can't stand to hear even if they normally wouldn't be able to hear it. Kyōfu no sakebi goes through all sound frequencies at a rapid speed and the wielder can determine which frequency causes the person pain. They can then amplify the sound to an incredibly high level that will cause the person sensitive to it to collapse in extreme pain. The pain can be so intense that the victim well be unable to move and defend themselves. Even if more than one enemy is coming at them Masutātorikkusutā can use his high spiritual pressure to allow Kyōfu no sakebi to lock onto multiple frequencies at one time. Meaning that he can incapacitate many enemies at once. This ability allows Masutātorikkusutā to either take out large groups of enemies in an instant or use the momentary confusion to flee.
The second technique is calledMimi o konran sa seru: Kyōfu no sakebiwhich is Confuse Their Ears: Screaming Terror.
Kyōfu no sakebi can form a barrier with sound frequencies that causes opponents to lose their ability to hear anything. This causes it to be hard for enemies to locate Masutātorikkusutā in battle putting them at a dangerous disadvantage.
The third ability is called Tengokutodjigoku ni naku: Kyōfu no sakebi meaning Cry to Heaven and Hell: Screaming Terror.
This technique allows the spirit of Kyōfu no sakebi to materialize and aid his master in battle. This is significant because the only other Zanpakuto to have such ability is Muramasa. However Muramasa is able to materialize himself because of his abilities as a Zanpakuto. Kyōfu no sakebi can materialize because the relationship between him and Masutātorikkusutā is so strong and their souls are in such harmony that Kyōfu no sakebi is able to materialize at will. In his physical form Kyōfu no sakebi takes on the form of a four foot tall black bat with large orange eyes and silted pupils. For his whole life both as a Soul Reaper and human Masutātorikkusutā had always had a fascination with bats so it makes sense that his Zanpakuto would take on the form of a bat. Kyōfu no sakebi's physical form has the ability to fly and swoop down on enemies. He also has razor sharp claws on his hands and feet that are strong enough to rip a person in half. He has two fangs that are about five inches in length and a bite can cause someone to become quite ill for up to two weeks. Kyōfu no sakebi's left wing was injured many years ago and is tattered but he can still fly very fast and maneuver quickly to avoid attacks. Whenever Kyōfu no sakebi is in this form and not fighting he rides around on his masters back for safety and to 'watch over his master' as he puts it.
The final technique isAka no surasshu ga naite iru: Kyōfu no sakebiwhich translates to Crying Red Slash: Screaming Terror.
How this technique works is that Masutātorikkusutā will pull a large amount of his reiatsu into the blade of Kyōfu no sakebi and it glows bright red. Once Masutātorikkusutā has gathered his reiatsu in the blade he swings it out and a column of red spiritual pressure forms and is shoot at its target. Masutātorikkusutā can swing the blade horizontal, diagonal, or vertical.
There is also a form of this technique that Kyōfu no sakebi can use in his physical form. His claws glow red and he releases his own separate attack. Kyōfu no sakebi and Masutātorikkusutā often use this technique together to cause more damage to their opponent.
All Soul Reapers must fight with their Zanpakuto in order to gain new techniques so Masutātorikkusutā has fought with Kyōfu no sakebi five times. It is unclear just how powerful Kyōfu no sakebi and Masutātorikkusutā actually are or how close they are to reaching their full potential.
Bankai Power:
The most powerful technique Masutātorikkusutā and Kyōfu no sakebi have in their arsenal.
The command for this technique is Bankai-Karera no mimi ga shukketsu suru: Kyōfu no sakebiwhich means Make Their Ears Bleed: Screaming Terror.
Masutātorikkusutā holds the blade up over his head and then speaks the summoning incantation. After the incantation is completed the whole sword glows a dark red and literally disappears by breaking into thousands of small shards. The shards completely disappear and can longer be seen. However when the shards disappear they are still there just super tiny. The invisible shards being to emit sound frequencies like in the blades shikai form but because the shards at everywhere the noise is super charged. True to the bankai's name the sound is so immense that it can cause someone's eardrums to burst. Masutātorikkusutā doesn't use this technique unless he absolutely has to because he himself it partially deaf in his right ear and knows how much damage the ability of his sword can have on someone.
This bankai doesn't actually have a physical form at all which can leave Masutātorikkusutā open to attack. However he has a second Zanpakuto that he would use in that case. (Normally a Soul Reaper can only have one Zanpakuto but this is my story and for the sake of the story Masutātorikkusutā has two. But as I said you won't learn about the second one until later on in the story.)
Ah gee… sorry about all the explanatory shit but it is necessary to understand the story.
NEXT CHAPTER-THE PLANE RIDE TO JAPAN
But where in Japan? READ TO DISCOVER!
Peace Out!
Virgo-24