7: Shatter
"This is my zanpakuto, Kyouka Suigetsu," Sousuke stated calmly, picking up his sheathed sword and holding it up. He watched as Sakura regarded it slowly, a look of amazement in her slate-gray eyes.
"It's beautiful," she murmured, casting a disappointed glance at her own katana. Kiriaiseika's tsuba was rectangular, decorated with a pattern of cherry blossoms. The hilt was a pale pink color, as well as the sheath. "I wish my tsuba wasn't rectangular. It's so boring that way. And I don't like pink that much either."
Sousuke chuckled. "Well, I suppose that can't be helped. Even so, your zanpakuto is beautiful in its own way. I rather like the cherry blossom pattern; it's very fitting."
She shrugged, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I guess it is. That's probably the only part I actually like. Even so, I'm awful with a katana. I think a wakizashi would be better suited for me."
He smiled softly. "That can't be helped, Kuchiki-san. A katana is the form your zanpakuto takes. Perhaps there is a logical reason behind it."
"Maybe," she agreed, nodding. Running her fingers along the cherry blossom design on her tsuba, she looked up at him, waiting for him to continue the lesson.
"I assume you know of the two stages of zanpakuto release?" He queried, deciding to start with the basics. He couldn't be too sure what this girl knew, after all.
The noble teenager nodded. "Shikai and Bankai."
"Yes," Sousuke affirmed. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to tell you much about Bankai, seeing as I haven't achieved it yet myself. But I am working on it." He laughed. "Shikai, however, is a stage that all lieutenants must have achieved. It's a requirement for the job."
Sakura nodded slowly. "Is it hard?"
Sousuke blinked. "Achieving Shikai?" He thought about it for a moment before replying. "I won't tell you that it's easy, but it's not difficult if you're willing to work hard. You already know your zanpakuto's name; that is an achievement within itself." He smiled as she lit up at the compliment.
"Thanks, Sensei! So that means it won't take too long?"
"It all depends on you, Kuchiki-san. Shall we begin our work then?"
She nodded enthusiastically, her hand already on Kiriaiseika's hilt."
"First things first though," Sousuke said, raising a finger. "Would you perhaps like a demonstration?"
Sakura's gray eyes widened in surprise. "You mean you'll show me your Shikai?"
"Absolutely." The chestnut-haired lieutenant smirked slightly as he drew his zanpakuto from the sheath, making sure that the noble was watching. "Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu."