A/N: Okay, finally a chapter after like, what, twenty years? Anyway, this one had to get posted, but hopefully I added a little laugh to the end. The girls out there will get it. And some of the guys might too...

Shikai

The day had been trying, to say the least. Classes had been cancelled that day, and the shinigami students had taken a field trip to the forest surrounding Rukongai, and were pressured to try and achieve the first form of their zanpakuto. The teachers wanted to sift out the students with potential ("Some of you who can get this might become fourth or third seats, or maybe a lieutenant. One or two could become captains as well!"). The process took time, however. It required bonding with a sword, learning its name, and calling out a command to force it to take a different shape depending on it's element or theme.

The whole thing seemed rather stupid to Karin ("Bonding with a sword? How lame can you get?!"), but she tried her hardest to find out her zanpakuto's name. She remembered Toshirou's zanpakuto in its shikai form. She knew what kind of power came with being able to wield a sword in that state. She wanted the power to fight, to protect herself along with anyone else with her. She didn't want to have to rely on everyone else the rest of her life. So she tried.

Yuzu was eager to try the minute she watched her teacher transform his zanpakuto. To her, it was a mystifying experience, one shrouded in a cloud of accomplishment. She was willing to put forth all of her effort into changing her zanpakuto, and the idea that each sword held a sentient spirit only drove her to try harder. It was easy to see that she desperately wanted to meet the soul of her zanpakuto, and clearly she was well on her way to consummating that objective.

The teachers had paired the students off with other students around the same level of skill. Yuzu was paired with a boy who was determined, but had low reiatsu. She was always more of healer than a fighter anyway, so the two were a perfect match.

Karin had been put with Joshino Aki, the boy who had introduced himself on their first day at the shinigami academy. Both of them were driven, and though Aki was older (and thus had more training), Karin had higher reiatsu. It was an even fight, but the teacher was confident that one of the two would put the other in a life/death situation, causing his or her zanpakuto to awaken.

The teacher had been right, and within a half hour, when Karin's endurance was being pushed to its limits, Aki had managed to knock her to the ground and put his sword to her throat. He was about to back off, afraid he had hurt her, when the teacher ordered him to stay put. He hesitantly obeyed, but Karin wasn't listening to them. She had been engulfed into her own little world.

Her zanpakuto's spirit, a beautiful but tiny woman with blue skin and clear eyes, had practically glided over to Karin to introduce herself. Karin didn't hear the name the first time, but when the spirit had lost her temper and threatened to beat the girl into a hole, the dark-haired girl's ears mysteriously became sharper.

Konpeki Mizu. Azure Water. That was the tiny woman's name. Her personality was similar to Karin; she appeared harmless, but say the wrong thing, and she would pummel that person to the ground. Karin was pleased to find out that she was an extremely powerful water zanpakuto. Power meant strength, and with strength came the power to protect. The two were a perfect match.

Yuzu took a bit longer, but only by about an hour or so. She wasn't as strong as Karin, but she had the endurance, and wore down her opponent easily. She was shocked when the teacher stepped in and attacked her mercilessly, trying to ignite the girl's zanpakuto spirit. Yuzu had a hurt look in her face, as if she couldn't believe the teacher was attacking her, and feebly tried to fight back. She was unable to do any real damage, and the instructor quickly put her in a corner. Only when Yuzu's eyes glazed over did the instructor slow her assault.

Yuzu's zanpakuto took the form of a fairy, about the size of her fist. The fairy pounded the idea that size didn't matter during battle into her partner's head. "Your opponent could be the size of a building, but that doesn't mean he isn't as slow as a turtle," the fairy folded her arms and nodded decisively. She told Yuzu that she controlled the wind, stating that often people undermined the element simply because it was soft and calm most of the time. Only after demonstrating the real power of the rushing air did Yuzu hear her name.Tsukuroi Arashi, or Mending Tempest ("I'm an oxymoron inside myself!" the fairy had exclaimed proudly).

Now the two sisters were inside their bedroom, relaxing after a hard day's work. Only three other students beside themselves had achieved shikai, and the teacher had rewarded them with a day off of practice for the following morning. Karin was looking forward to the free time. Yuzu decided to write a letter home, telling her father and brother of their accomplishments.

"Should I tell Ichigo about the teacher attacking me, or leave that out?" Yuzu chewed on the eraser of her pencil.

"Leave it out," Karin responded, throwing a small ball up and catching it. She was sprawled out on her bed, with her sword beside her, lounging. "He'll flip if he found out. Knowing him, he'd charge over here and demand that they take better care of us." She snickered at the thought.

Yuzu nodded and continued to write.

Karin blinked, and an epiphany crossed her mind. She sat up, tossing the ball across the room, where it hit the wall and bounced off, rolling underneath her bed.

"Do you realize that my command is going to have to be something related to water? Like, every time I want to get my zanpakuto to it's second form, I'll have to shout, 'Flow, Konpeki Mizu'."

Yuzu started, dropping her pencil. Karin winced at the thought, and Yuzu turned around, a slight smile playing on her face.

"Perhaps you should pick a different command, Karin. I doubt the male members of your squad will appreciate that thought."

A/N: Hope you liked it. I'll try to post the next chapter sooner than later. :) Reviews are much loved!