Note: That last chapter got me on a sort of roll, so to speak, so here's another chapter as a treat! Also, if chapters come out with any sort of regularity, it will most likely be over the weekends, due to me not having much time during the week because of school.

Two Worlds – Chapter 5

a Bleach fanfiction by Blacktide

Midday, Soul Society.

Ayame was speechless. She had lived a normal life up to this point. To suddenly find out that her family was a part of an entirely alien world wasn't something that made any sense in the context of her life. Her father didn't do anything out of the ordinary that would have suggested he was part of something like this. How could he have possibly been one of the people that she was looking at right now?

"A child... of a human... and a Shinigami?" Ayame stuttered, still in a state of absolute shock.

"That's correct." Ichigo answered in a calming and re-assuring voice. "I know it's hard to believe, but I swear on my life that it's the truth."

Ayame shook her head. "No... no, that can't be right," she continued. "My father couldn't have been one of you. It just doesn't make sense! He never did anything out of the ordinary..."

"It's a lot to take in, Ayame – trust me, I know – but it is not a lie. We wouldn't have brought you here otherwise. I know from firsthand experience that children of both a human and a Shinigami have enhanced power development rates. As an example, in the span of a year after first gaining my Shinigami abilities, my power had grown well beyond the level of a Captain, whereas it takes most Shinigami who have the necessary reiatsu levels hundreds, if not thousands, of years to reach that level of power. This is all the truth, Ayame, and nothing can change the fact that you are a special person." Ichigo responded.

It couldn't be true. It was inconceivable to Ayame. There was just no way she could possibly be a Shinigami...

Ichigo interrupted her thoughts. "I suppose you'll need proof of some sort. Rukia, if you don't mind..."

Suddenly a woman with long, black hair well below shoulder level appeared in the room. Her eyes were a dark shade of blue, almost violet, with a thin and well-shaped body. She was considerably shorter than Ichigo or Hikaru – about 5 and a half feet tall, Ayame reckoned just from a glance – who were both well above 6 feet tall. Despite her small stature, however, there seemed to be a commanding and stern aura about her that Ayame couldn't quite put a finger on. She wore a black kimono, and had what looked to be a badge of some sort tied to her left arm with a strip of cloth. Ayame noticed that she held a sword in her hands as well as wore a sheathed one on her waist. The sword she held in her hands seemed strangly familiar...

"I brought the sword as you instructed." the woman said as she handed the sword to Ichigo and kneeled before him.

"Thank you for your help, Rukia."

"By your leave, I must go and oversee efforts with..." the woman named Rukia began, and then cut off, no doubt because Ayame was in room. "...with our 'situation." she finished.

"Go on. Report back to me immediately if we uncover anything," Ichigo replied, clearly understanding what Rukia was speaking of. "Hikaru, assist her, if you would. I'll take things from here."

"Yes, sir!" Rukia and Hikaru said simultaneously.

And with that, they disappeared into thin air, and Ichigo turned to face Ayame, holding out the sword in front of him. "Ayame, do you recognize this sword?" he asked.

Ayame was still quite shocked by the revelations of earlier, but she responded nonetheless. "It looks familiar, if that counts..."

"I'd say the reason it looks familiar is because you saw it on a stand on top of your cabinet this morning?"

The memory slowly coming back to her, Ayame realized that this sword was in fact the same one she saw that morning. "Now that you mention it, it is... how did you know?" she inquired.

"I'm afraid that would be better explained after you learn that what has been said is not a lie," Ichigo replied. "Take this sword," he continued, gesturing for Ayame to take it. "Trust me. You'll see soon enough."

Between all that was going on, the last thing Ayame wanted to do was be dragged into all of this. If this truly was to prove everything that had happened up to this point, then Ayame would rather not know the truth. But some fiber of her being wanted to know the truth, and it urged her hand to move forward. It seemed like an eternity, but the tips of her fingers finally touched the hilt, and eventually her entire hand grasped the sword.

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen, but then the world around her transformed. She found herself on top of a stone tower easily hundreds of feet tall, and as she looked around her, she saw that this tower was merely in a corner of a massive Medieval Era castle located on the edge of an arbitrary peninsula surrounded by clear, blue water as far as the eye could see. And, across from her in this strange tower, stood a man.

The man was completely dressed in black, with a hood over his head, completely hiding his facial features. A bright white sash hung from his waist, completely contradicting the rest of his clothing. He wore dark brown leather boots and gloves that extended up to his knees and elbows, respectively.

"Greetings, Ayame." the man said, though it hardly sounded like the man was speaking. Instead, a voice seemed to come from every direction, as if the world itself was speaking to Ayame.

"Who... who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Everything you see around you, Ayame, is your soul. This castle, the ocean, the peninsula that we sit on... everything. I am a fragment of your soul that takes the form of a weapon. I am the sword that recently held. I am called a Zanpakuto – all Shinigami possess one. Our powers vary based on our owners' souls, and our appearance is based on our powers. I am your Zanpakuto, Ayame."

Even though it was resoundingly clear with this new revelation, Ayame still couldn't accept that she was a Shinigami. "No! That isn't possible! I'm not a Shinigami!" she screamed, tears falling from her eyes.

"Accept it, Ayame! I am the embodiment of your soul! I know just as well as you do that lying to yourself will get you nowhere! No amount of denial will help if the evidence is standing right in front of you! You know everything about yourself now, Ayame. Leave in the middle and you will be haunted for the rest of your life. If you are afraid of me... of your power... of your kin... then you will die."

The tears kept coming, but the message had gotten across. There was no going back. She knew. She knew it all. Fear or denial won't work. Whether she liked it or not, she was a Shinigami, and there was nothing to do but accept it.

Her sobbing slowly stopped, and the tears stopped forming as the final realization came to her that it was nothing to be afraid of. She finally drew the strength to ask, "What is your name... Zanpakuto?"

"My name, Ayame, is..." the Zanpakuto began to reply, but as he muttered his name, Ayame left the world she was in and slowly returned to consciousness.

Upon waking up, she found that she had fallen out of her chair. Ichigo was kneeled beside her and helped her up as she stumbled into it, breathing heavily.

"Well? Is that enough?" Ichigo asked.

Ayame looked up at Ichigo, her eyes wet from crying, even though she had only been crying inside her soul. "...I don't exactly like it... but yes, that was enough. I am a Shinigami."

Ichigo smiled. "Excellent. While you were talking to your Zanpakuto, did you happen to catch its name?"

Ayame couldn't help but wonder how Ichigo knew she had talked to her Zanpakuto, but then again, he wouldn't have handed her the sword if he didn't know what would happen.

"No... he began tell me his name, but as the words left his mouth, I regained consciousness." she responded.

"Not surprising. Your stature as half-human and half-Shinigami grants you higher developmental rate, but communicating with and learning the name of your Zanpakuto will still require some training; and, speaking of which, first thing tomorrow, you're to report to the Technological Institute for preliminary training. With luck, you will be able to hone your skills quickly enough to be of use in the battle ahead." Ichigo said.

"What battle?" Ayame asked.

"That's best left for later. I imagine this past hour has provided enough surprises for the day."

Ayame looked down at her sword, and was surprised to see that the once nondescript hilt was now wrapped in a pure, white cloth.

"I see you've noticed the hilt of your blade. Very interesting. You are the first Shinigami I have seen with a Zanpakuto that possesses a hilt wrapped in white cloth while in its unreleased state. I've heard stories, but never actually seen one in person." Ichigo observed.

"What do you mean?" Ayame inquired.

"The color of a Zanpakuto's hilt isn't just for aesthetic purposes; it reflects its owner in a multitude of ways. A red hilt represents courage and determination, for example. A white hilt, however, is a very rare phenomenon. For a first, Zanpakuto typically have a specific pattern on their hilt that is composed of two colors, like on my own Zanpakuto."

To demonstrate, Ichigo unsheathed his Zanpakuto and showed Ayame its hilt. Its main color was red, but running down the middle was a pattern of repeating white diamonds that ran all the way up to the guard where the blade itself started.

"Typically, Zanpakutos have white as one of the colors in the pattern, and then the other color varies depending on the owner's soul. To have a purely white hilt is something I have never seen before, and only have heard stories about." Ichigo continued.

"What does it mean?" asked Ayame, clearly curious as to where Ichigo was going with this.

"Well, I obviously can't be sure, but the legends say that a white hilt represents the owner's righteousness; a pure heart and soul. The more important part of the legend, however, is that a white hilt apparently means that the owner is destined for greatness... destined for a place in history."