A/N: Yo, I'm back. I decided to do this chapter relatively quickly because... well, I felt like it.

Shoutout Time!

Heir of Schiffer : Hey, hey. I'm really glad you're still reviewing the story. To be honest, none of my chapters thus far were really fillers, but it's in between those plotlines that are really hard to fill. Most of the stuff are made up on the spot . Time skips are being thrown as much as I can without skipping vital parts of the story, but from the looks of things, they aren't going very well thus far. And yes, I'll try to be faster. This chapter count? xD

randomguy24 : Yo, bro. I've heard lots of these Mary Sues and Gary Stus but I've yet to understand what it truly means. Google don't help much. Avoiding stu-ism is one of my main concerns, but you can't avoid something you don't see coming, unless it's heard. Do tell me if I'm getting a little too ahead of myself in terms of stu-ism. xD And yes, I understand that four months was long, and I apologize for that, but I kinda lost the mood for writing halfway. Sorry xD Anyway, as with Heir of Schiffer, I'm glad you're still with me. ;P

And with those important messages done, let's get the show on the road!

Opening Song: Karma - Bump of Chicken

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. I do, however, own the OCs thus far.

Chapter 12

My mindscape had undergone so many changes since I'd first entered that it was almost impossible to keep track of them all. The vast blue of clouds and emptiness had transformed into an empty floating island. How it floated, I still didn't want to know, but the change was welcome even though I had overcome my acrophobia. You kinda lose your fear of heights after you realize no matter what happens you can't fall to your death in your mind.

Some of that fearfulness had also evaporated in real life, as the reishi solidification technique was always available, but an early fear could not dissipate completely that quickly.

"It is actually possible to die in your mind, you know. In fact, it's quite common," elf-lady had remarked, somewhat amused, when I voiced it out some nights ago. "It's the way hollows are made. When a mental or spiritual entity takes over, it has dominance until the other one decides to fight for control. While the strong willed human minds that turn into hollows actually survive, the weak willed ones do not have that chance."

I nodded, recalling the battle with my inner hollow. Until I actually decided to fight, my Hollow had exerted its control over my body. Silly as it was the way I won, any advantage was enough to tip the balance against two equal sides.

"Actually, there were those who can successfully turn into hollows while they were still alive and revert back, though the frequency of that happening dropped since the end of the Nordic era, as you humans call it," elf-lady said, dropping that little piece of information.

The Nordic era meant…

"The Viking Age?" I guessed, hoping to extract more knowledge from her.

"That is correct. You humans call them Vikings. They, on the other hand, called themselves Eignask, but it doesn't matter anymore. The rate of it occurring at this time period is less than a fraction, and a small one at that." Yup, it was a bombshell of information, but as she said, a relatively useless one.

Through this method, I had learned many things from elf-lady, though most of the subjects were completely irrelevant. What I'd come to realize, however, was that questions and answers were the foundations for building the bonds between entities. It was also the reason for the development of my mind, but elf-lady had said that I had a long way to go before it was fully complete. According to her, until the island was finished, I wouldn't be able to access her full powers.

Still, I had to admit that visiting her in my mind ranked among the top five ways to spend my time. Normally, after the questions that I wanted to ask had run out, she invited me to fly alongside her, bestowing me a pair of blue wings. The feeling of soaring in the air was exhilarating, and as clichéd as it sounded, it felt free.

It was a feeling words could not explain.

I opened my eyes only to find that I was the only student left in class. As luck would have it, Rangiku was still there, waiting for everyone to be aware before she left. It was probably just an excuse for skipping out on work, but it was a good thing that she did.

I glanced at the clock they had in the corner. Apparently I was only here for an extra three minutes, but I guess everyone was in a hurry to get to lunch.

"Guess you finally woke up." Rangiku remarked, smirking. "Don't you get enough sleep?"

"I wasn't sleeping." I replied, sounding a little defensive. "I was with communicating with my zanpakuto. Isn't that what this class is for, Lieutenant?"

She snorted. "That's what you'd think. Hardly anyone ever takes this class seriously. I know I certainly don't. By the way, don't bother with the lieutenant thing. I get enough of that from my division."

I nodded. Rangiku certainly was a bad role model for work ethics, but who was I to argue? I was probably just as bad as she was when it came to slacking in class.

Glad you noticed.

Ignoring the mental jibe, I pressed on to more important matters. "As you wish. Actually, I took the class to talk to you." I admitted.

"To talk to me?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, kid, but I'm not interested in younger boys."

Younger boys…? Did she really think that I was as brainless and testosterone-driven as the other male students? I couldn't resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"I wasn't talking about that, Rangiku. No offence, but you're not my type." I decided to clarify further. "What I wanted to talk to you about was how to leave the soul society and about conducting a search for someone here."

She seemed puzzled. "Why would you want to leave the soul society?" Then the second question hit her, and she understood. "Oh, I see. Is she someone special to you?" She leaned towards me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I resisted the urge to facepalm at what she meant. "Rangiku, she's special, but not in the way you're thinking of."

She couldn't take the hint. "Unrequited love, huh? That's something everyone goes through once in their life, and more in the soul society. Take my advice, kid. Move on. Besides, you're dead and she's alive, so there's no chance for you two to be together anyway."

I clenched my fists. Rangiku certainly was one to jump at wrong conclusions. "Rangiku." I growled menacingly. Whatever came out must've sounded harmless, because she kept on talking as if I never said anything.

"Not only that, but there are plenty of fish in the sea, too! There are loads of girls here that are single and available, you know." She kept on rambling. How much clearer did I need to be?

"Rangiku, she's my sister."

There was silence for about a second, and I thanked whatever deity there was out there that she had desisted with the whole thing, until…

"Incest, huh?" she said the first thing that popped into her head. Then her eyes widened as she realized what I actually meant and started to laugh a little sheepishly.

Talk about a one-track mind.

"Sorry about that." She apologized. Not wanting to push the self-embarrassment any further, she answered my questions. "Honestly, I haven't been to the world of the living for a long time." She looked at the window longingly, as if it symbolized that outside world. "They don't let Lieutenants out there unless it's really necessary. As for how you are going to get there, it depends."

She looked back at me with serious, blue eyes. "What I can tell you is that you made the right decision joining the academy. Once in a while, students are sent on field missions to the world of the living to have practical training. You won't get much freedom, but at least you're there. The only problem is that you don't get to choose where you'll end up going, but it should be somewhere in Japan."

That was news. It wasn't great, but it certainly wasn't bad either. At least there was a way to get out of this realm. Journeying back to my hometown wouldn't take that long with shunpo. The real question was whether I'd have the freedom to move around.

"What about the search option?" I asked, knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to get anymore information from the first question.

She shook her head sadly. "Sorry, Shiro, but you're on your own for that one. Most people die and never find their loved ones in the afterlife. There're just too many people."

Stumped, I just nodded. All I could do was to have faith that she was alive, then. "Thanks, Rangiku."

She smiled. "You're welcome. Say, would you want to come to our division headquarters for dinner after your classes? You're free then, right?"

"I wouldn't mind, but are you sure it's okay? Aren't normal people banned from entering any of the headquarters?" I asked, taken aback by her generous offer.

She shook her forefinger at me. "Captains and Lieutenants are allowed to bring those they deem have potential for future recruitment any time. And guess who's Lieutenant?" She winked.

I felt I was forgetting something here, but I decided it would be impolite to decline.

"Alright then. I'll see you later." I affirmed, walking out of the class.

As I walked along the corridor, elf-lady started laughing for absolutely no reason. Too puzzled to figure it out, I continued to the workshop to meet with the others for lunch. Today was Akiro's turn to cook lunch.

…

Cook. Dinner. Rangiku.

…

Oh, hell no.

Elf-lady burst into another wave of raucous laughter.

"How could you've been so careless?" Shuhei asked after writing class. "I warned you. I truly did."

In all honesty, Shuhei's classes were actually quite interesting. Who would've known the guy had so much style behind that stoic and unmoving face. He was a passionate teacher, one who actually tried, but unfortunately, the class only consisted of eight people. Seven purely artistic souls and one with an ulterior motive.

But it didn't matter, since he was happy with the article that I submitted to him. I approached him after class as I did with Rangiku, but he only confirmed what Rangiku had already explained…minus the whole love thing.

"I really don't know. It just slipped my mind, I guess." I didn't know what to feel about this. On one end, maybe Shuhei and Marechiyo were exaggerating, but on the other hand, what if their warnings were simply understatements?

"Well, now that something's slipped your mind, I can guarantee something's gonna slip your stomach later." He snickered at his own joke.

"Now's not exactly the right time for jokes, Lieutenant." I told him. "What do you propose I do?"

"The best way to survive this is to cancel the dinner, but its a short term solution. She'd be pestering you over and over again until you've actually tried her cooking." He shook his head. "There really is no good way out of this. You've seen what happens when you badmouth her cooking."

We both tried to suppress the involuntary wince that came with the memory. I felt the blood drain from my face as I began to fully understand the depth of the trouble that I had just gotten myself into.

"I really am in trouble, huh?" I voiced out my thoughts, and he nodded grimly, noticing that I had finally realized the mess that I was in, and probably about to cause at the dinner.

"Here's some advice. Don't swallow anything. If possible, try to distract her with conversation. That way she won't keep dumping the crap- I mean, 'food', on your plate." He frowned once more, as if remembering something. "Don't even touch the rice."

I guess I'm going hungry tonight, then.

"You're going to the 10th Division Headquarters? For real?" Yosuke asked. Somehow, he'd heard about my plans tonight and he hadn't stopped pestering me ever since.

We were back at the workshop, since pretty much everything that we needed was there. The administrators were even nice enough to put in a bathroom for cleaning up after spars and kido malfunctions, and I didn't have anything other than my uniform to wear. If there wasn't any regulations about having to sleep in the dorms, we'd be crashing here the whole time.

"Yes, Yosuke, for the third time, I am going to the 10th Division's Headquarters." He simply didn't know when to stop bugging people.

"Wha-" he began.

"I've been invited for dinner." I cut him off.

"Who-" he started again.

"Rangiku Matsumoto, Lieutenant of the 10th Division." I answered his question lazily before it fully formed.

"Why-" Why? Why in the world does he persist in doing this?

"I don't know." I replied before he could say anything more.

"Ho-" How does he remember the exact same cycle? Someone kill me.

"We met at a ramen shop." Honestly, it's the third time he's doing this!

"Whe-"

"For the love of God, Yosuke, it's TONIGHT!"

He simply smirked. "Actually, I was about to ask you just when you turned psychic, but I guess you already disproved my theory."

Oh, why am I stuck with this idiot?

"Because he requires attention from everyone or he'll turn into a psychopath. Though I don't think there'll be any difference." Ayame walked into the workshop and answered my question.

I stood there, stunned. "…When did you turn psychic?"

She chuckled darkly. "I didn't. You had that 'why am I stuck with Yosuke' look on your face. I have seen it many times, I have worn it many times, and I have empathized with it many times."

She shot Yosuke a withering look that was so forlorn that it could only be her 'why am I stuck with Yosuke' look. He didn't even notice it.

Yes. Pity us. Well, at least Akiro's cooking is good…

I take that back. Don't pity us. Pity me.

"So tell me why," I started with gritted teeth, "did you neglect to mention that I would be facing off your squad members in battle?"

And that's exactly the way things were going. The moment I had arrived at the gates of the 10th's Headquarters, I was dragged off by Rangiku and a few of her subordinates into a dojo, which I assume was used for their training.

"I forgot." The busty Lieutenant answered as if that would excuse everything. I was on the verge of tearing her apart. I had just received a last minute briefing from her captain.

"And you!" I turned to the Lieutenant of the 9th division who was sitting tritely in the corner. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

He shrugged. "Rangiku told me not to."

I felt my left eye twitching involuntarily. I looked pointedly at Rangiku, who smiled innocently as though she had never heard Shuhei's not-so grudging admittance. "You were saying something about forgetting?"

"Oh, lighten up! Your scowl looks exactly like my captain's." she said in response. "You need to stop being so serious all the time."

The truth was I wasn't one of those serious types. I was just pissed. And for good reason too.

Her captain, who was right there, simply scowled more. He had snowy white hair, and was short. Like a kid short. Actually, his looks and my looks indicated that we were around the same 'age'. Only he was short.

Short.

It hard not to be intimidated by him, though, for his eyes displayed a cold and somewhat hardened captain. From what I'd heard, this short captain, whose name was Toshiro Hitsugaya, was a child prodigy who had graduated the academy in a year. It's hard to believe that someone of those skills and rank looked so boyish. Not to mention his name sounded like mine.

I decided to ignore that comment of Rangiku's, and faced Shuhei instead. "So why of all people do I have to fight you? You're not even from the 10th division."

"You're not facing me first, Shiro. You have to defeat a few others before getting to go against me." Judging from the way he said it, he was probably hoping for me to get beaten before that.

"You didn't answer my question. Why do I have to face you?" I was getting irritated by his sidestepping. His eyes hardened unexpectedly.

"Lieutenant Hisagi's reasons are personal, and if he doesn't want to share them with you, then he doesn't have to." Toshiro cut in, garnering the attention of everyone in the room. "You have two more minutes to prepare yourself. I suggest you quit wasting time with these meaningless questions and warm up or something."

The captain had a point, but I didn't need any warm-ups. I had shunpo-ed here under Ayame's directions, and thus already activated the heightened senses. There was one more thing to do, though…

I drew the sword they had given me and tested the weight, only to find that it was weightless. Known as asauchi, these swords were actually nameless zanpakuto for shinigami in training. The hilt was plain, but the blade was well-crafted.

Shiro, do you want to try something?

What is it, elf-lady?

I think that we can probably connect through the sword. You can't release my power yet, but it should help with your fighting.

I glanced at the asauchi, wondering what elf-lady was planning. No sooner had I held it up had the sword begun to glow with a blue nimbus.

Longer, or shorter?

I didn't know what she was talking about, so I went with longer.

The light intensified, and the sword began to…grow?

A more accurate term would be elongate, but I shall let it slip just this once.

And elongate the sword did. It was as long as a regular katana when I first received it. Now, however, it was about as long as a nodachi.

Is this adequate?

I could only stare at the blade as the lights swirled around it, its metallic edge giving off a keener sheen than before. Everyone else was also transfixed at the transformation of the weapon, just as I was.

A little shorter would be nice.

Elf-lady responded to the request, making it the same height as I pictured in my mind- approximately in between a katana and a nodachi. The blade itself now had a distinct blue pattern as a calling card for her work.

Thanks, elf-lady.

No thanks necessary. It was an experiment I was eager to try.

Thanks anyway.

"Shiro?"

I snapped out of my daze. Recognizing that the voice belonged to Rangiku, I turned to face her.

"Have you released your zanpakuto before?" Her voice was serious, indicating that this was not a matter to joke with.

"No." Honesty was usually the best policy in times like this. Note the usage of the term 'usually'.

"Then how did you…" she left it hanging, unsure of how to phrase the question.

"I don't know. My zanpakuto spirit offered to do it for me." I replied.

"Aren't you just a little over two weeks old in the soul society? I met you on the first day you arrived, right?" Shuhei asked, interrupting Rangiku's question. They were rhetorical questions to which I nodded. "How in the world did you manage to communicate with your zanpakuto that quickly?"

"I have to admit I'm a little curious about that too." Toshiro added, looking fully interested now.

Shiro, wait! Elf-lady sounded a little panicked.

What is it?

Whatever you decide to do or say, don't mention your inner hollow to them. He is not supposed to exist.

Understood.

"I don't know. She started talking to me around the time I crash landed. She was the one who taught me how to control my reiatsu, how to shunpo, and how to use the Byakurai." The best lie was the truth, at least, that's what I learned. I usually tried to refrain from lying outright.

Toshiro seemed to be pondering something, frowning even more. "While it has happened before, zanpakuto spirits teaching their wielders about skills outside of their own is very rare. You are the first case that I've seen myself, discounting the reports of others."

I needed a way to escape the prodding quickly, so I immediately utilized the first idea that came to mind. I mimicked Toshiro's curt manner as well just for the heck of it.

"It's been two minutes already. I suggest we quit wasting time with these meaningless questions and start or something."

The snow-haired captain's eye twitched.

Closing Song: Saikou no Kataomoi - Tainaka Sachi

A/N: Well, that's this chapter. Still lacking action, but the next chapter will make up for that, I promise. Somehow, it seemed a little messy to me, but it may just be the perfectionism every author feels.

Reviews would be extremely appreciated! xD

and encouraging

and awesome! xD