Author's Notes: Sorry for the late chapter. I had school as mentioned before. Oh, I updated the previous chapters for some errors and a significant story-related mistake was corrected, if you will, check out the earlier chapters. Thank you all for reading my FanFic. Please, now, enjoy.
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They leapt across the night skies of Inchon. It was simply a beautiful night. But there was work to do. Shin had sublimated all of the hollows while Daisuke watched in awe. Each Zanpaku-to strike that Shin had swung was a killing blow and after each hit, the hollow's essence of being just simply disintegrated right before his eyes. It was truly an unbelievable sight to behold.
They landed on the rooftop of an abandoned building. Both, seemingly out of breath, sat down to rest.
"H-how… how do you…?" Daisuke asked, trying to catch his breath after so many leaps.
"How do I what?"
"Kill the hollows…"
The Soul Reaper raised up his night-black sword. "It's really simple actually."
Daisuke, raising an eyebrow, asked, "Reeaaaally… How?"
With a swinging motion and a finishing cut in the air, the Shinigami replied, "All you need to do… Is to swipe at the head. Not from the front, but towards the back of the head."
"Why exactly? Why the back?"
Shin lifted his sword and muttered, "Mugen no Muko, Chikaku o Ushinau." Almost immediately after the phrase, the black-clad Zanpaku-to turned back into its original form, a standard katana. He then, sheathed the sword.
"The reason… is to not reveal the face beneath the mask…"
"The face?... Wait a minute, what mask are you talking about?"
Shinnosuke looked at Daisuke, a hint of annoyance on his face.
"Daisuke. We've been out here for several hours now. Don't tell me that you can't distinguish a hollow and its mask."
"Uh… What?"
Shin face palmed himself. "Daisuke. As I mentioned before, a hollow is a fallen spirit. They have a mask formed from reishi, spirit matter, concealing their true face. Therefore, slicing the mask itself will-"
"Reveal the face underneath. I got it. But why though?"
Shin leaned against the railing on the roof. "Daisuke. What if the person behind the mask was a person you once knew?"
Daisuke thought about it for a moment. Takeshi… Ryo… No problem. "Honestly Shin, I've been confined for ten years. I don't know anyone but the people I hate."
"Ahhh…," Shin swore softly, "Suit yourself…"
The two sat in silence.
"Oh. Shin."
"What?"
"My Zanpaku-to…"
"What about it?"
"Why is it… white and covered in ice?" Daisuke asked, examining his sword actually for the first time. It was very different from Shinnosuke's Mugen no Muko.
"Well… A Zanpaku-to is unique to itself. It's appearance and powers are reflected upon the Shingami's soul and strength..."
"Based on my soul and strength…" Daisuke muttered to himself, bringing his pale hands to his face.
The Cold… The ice and snow… The white blade… They are related…
The only part that was strange to Daisuke was the glowing blue stone in the hilt.
"… A Zanpaku-to's personality is based on the user as well."
"Wait. Since when did swords have personalities?"
"Daisuke, Daisuke, Daisuke… A Zanpaku-to isn't an ordinary spirit-cutter. Let me explain…"
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While the two Soul Reapers were conversing, they both failed to notice a hooded man standing in the distance.
"Daisuke Shirai. You have changed. I can feel the different presence in the air." The man spoke to himself. Then, the man grinned.
"I can't wait to see your results…" he spoke softly. "It shall make everything more… interesting… Your letter shall arrive soon once everything is… finalized… Until then… I shall observe you closely." With that, the man turned around and disappeared without a trace.
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"So a Zanpaku-to is born with the Shinigami… and dies with it…" Daisuke finished.
"That's about all you need to know." Shin said, flipping his hair around.
Daisuke looked at his Zanpaku-to. "Does it have a name?"
"Oh! Right!" Shin said, slapping himself in the face for about the fifth time.
"When you learn the name of your Zanpaku-to, you must be able to synchronize and harmonize with it. If you do that, you will be able to achieve Shikai and, if trained hard enough, Bankai."
"Shikai and Bankai…?"
"We'll get into detail for that later… What matters now… is that you have already achieved Shikai as a novice Shinigami."
"Wait. I already did?" Daisuke asked, raising his sword.
"Does your sword look like a normal katana to you?"
"…"
"Your blade is the embodiment of your Zanpaku-to's soul."
"Then a Shikai is…"
"The first stage of harmonization and communication with your Zanpaku-to…"
"How do we communicate with our Zanpaku-to?"
"You first need to learn the name, then you must do Jinzen, sword meditation…"
"I don't recall calling upon the name of my Zanpaku-to…" Daisuke said, trying to remember the time when he first became a Shinigami.
"Did you hear anything when you were first synchronizing with the Zanpaku-to?"
Daisuke searched through his memory. He tried to pinpoint if he heard anything on impact with Shin's Zanpaku-to.
"…..."
…Tōketsu shira yuki…
Daisuke heard the name in his head. He listened hard for it again.
I am Tōketsu shira yuki…
"Tōketsu shira yuki… That's your name." Daisuke said aloud without even realizing. He then began conversing with his sword.
Shin smiled to himself. For a novice Soul Reaper, Daisuke was learning fast.
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The two leapt back to the orphanage after a lot of training. Daisuke had been doing Jinzen for several hours, communicating with his Zanpaku-to, before arriving back. Shin opened a tear into his cell with his Zanpaku-to.
"It was one hell of a night, huh?" Shin asked, sheathing his sword.
"You could say that…" Daisuke replied, stretching as he made his way back into his dreary cell.
Daisuke looked back at the world one more time before making his way towards his bed. He was quite surprised to see what was on his bed.
His body.
"Uh… Shin?" Daisuke asked, after recovering his train of thought
The Shinigami peered into the tear, "What?"
"How do I get back into my human body?"
"Just pick it up and stand behind it… Simple." Shin replied, playing with his bangs.
"Oh." Daisuke said, sheepishly picking his body up and his soul entering it.
It was a weird feeling to be back in his physical form. I wish I was still a Soul Reaper….
Daisuke sat on his bed, picking up and toying with Sang-Hyun's silver watch. Strangely, now, he felt a strange presence radiate from the wristwatch. Probably nothing. He set the wristwatch on his nightstand and sat against the wall.
"I'll be back tomorrow. We shall continue your training further." Shin said, preparing to exit the tear on the wall.
"Wait. How can I become a Soul Reaper again?" Daisuke asked, his eyes wide.
Shinnosuke raised up his sword, "Well… You know… You could always be stabbed again…" Daisuke face turned paler than what it already was (much to Shin's amusement). "Or… here." Shin said, tossing a brown badge to him.
"… What is this suppose to be?" Daisuke asked, examining the battered, old badge.
"It's a substitute Shinigami badge. I found one being tossed around in one of the storage rooms at the 3rd Division Barracks. Guess I was lucky enough to keep it… Oh, all you need to do is hold it to your chest for several seconds and you'll be in your Soul Reaper form soon enough."
"Oh. Thanks." Daisuke said, setting it down on his nightstand next to his wristwatch.
Grinning, Shin said, "No problem." And then, he entered the tear and left.
Daisuke laid back into his bed and let out a deep breath.
I think I can get used to this.
With that, he smiled to himself and fell asleep.
(A/N): SO SORRY FOR THIS CHAPTER! I had some problems go on throughout this week and it was really hard for me to actually think up with a new chapter to type up. I promise to get out a new Chapter before this week ends and I'll upload it ASAP. Reviews are appreciated. But until then…
~SAYONARA~