Chapter 36: Mizukiri's Revelation

Minata's POV

"You are not interested in fighting Mizukiri?" As soon as she had made herself known to me, I readied myself for battle, but she never moved to engage her blade. She simply held up her hands, indicating that she was not interested in taking me on in a fight, and now here we are, walking back to the 1st Division as if the zanpakuto spirit rebellion never happened.

"I am not interested in fighting useless battles," she tells me as she continues to look forward. "Besides, I don't feel like being used as a pawn in Muramasa's grand scheme of things."

"I see. So you do have a sense of Muramasa's true intentions then."

"Muramasa says that he called out to us in to lead us to freedom, to help us rise against our shinigami oppressors . . . It's all a farce," she tells me as she shakes her head. "Muramasa is just playing us for fools. He's using the rest of us as a distraction for the shinigami while he continues with his own plans behind the scenes. . . Using his fellow spirits for his own personal gain is just despicable if you ask me."

"Do you have any idea what Muramasa's true intentions are?"

"Not really, but I have a feeling you do," she tells me with a knowing look on her face. The smirk on my face answers her statement for me. "I should have known. Care to explain to me what Muramasa is probably planning?"

"If my hunch is correct, he's going to try to revive his master"

"Now why would he do that?" she asks as her eyebrows furrow together in slight frustration. "He tells the rest of us that he wants to liberate us from our masters, and yet his true plan involves him reviving his own master? A bit hypocritical on his part don't you think?"

"That's the basic gist of it," I tell her as I shake my head. "I still don't understand what Muramasa's reason for doing this is though, but whatever it is, it's causing a lot of problems for the Sereitei."

"I'm not really familiar with the details on Muramasa's wielder. All I really know about him is that he used to be a member of the Kuchiki Clan. If my memory serves me right, he married into the clan correct?"

"That's right," I tell her with a small nod of my head. "Muramasa's master married one of Byakuya's aunts, but soon enough, due to his actions, he fell out of favor with the family, and eventually, the Gotei 13."

"Regardless of the fact he married into the clan, I bet it was a hard pill to swallow for some within the Kuchiki Clan to know that one of their own members caused so much problems for the Sereitei." Mizukiri says with a sheepish smirk on her face.

"If I remember correctly, one of the elders once said that the only forgivable thing about Muramasa's owner was that he was never born into the clan." I tell her as I see the 1st Division barracks coming up down the road.

"Ah, one of the biggest things about nobles is that they don't like scandals, and will limit any potential ones as best they can," Mizukiri says absentmindedly. "It must be helpful to be part of a clan that wields such great influence across society. That way, a scandal can be kept quiet, well, if you know the right people."

"Then again, it could also be a great detriment. You know what they say Kiri. The bigger you are . . ."

"The harder you fall," she finishes for me. "Do you think the other spirits will eventually come to their senses? They must realize that their being used as unwilling pawns."

"Hmm, that's all that we can hope for," I say as we finally reach the division gates. The guards on duty instantly go on alert and ready their weapons as soon as they see Mizukiri, but I raise my hand to get them to stand down. "Stand down men. Mizukiri is not here to do any harm. She's not like the others."

"Are you sure Third Seat Fukudome?" the ponytailed guard on my left asks warily as he keeps his staff up. "She could just be deceiving you."

"If I wanted to do you any harm, I would have done so by now and knocked you both out before either of you two could blink," Mizukiri told them as she shook her head. "I'm not here to fight with you people. Besides, I don't plan on being one of Muramasa's tools anytime soon. Also, I actually enjoy serving under my master."

"You do?" I ask as I raise an eyebrow in shock.

"I do," she tells me with a smirk in return. "Unlike the other zanpakuto, I don't have any problems serving under you. You treat me with kindness and respect, and that's all I can ever ask for."

"Huh, it's nice to know how much you feel about our relationship Mizukiri. Thank you," I tell her as I turn to the guards. "So, are you still not going to let my partner in with me?"

"No, no, she's good in our book," the ponytailed guard says as he and his partner put down their weapons. "You two may pass. We apologize for standing in your way."

"Don't worry. You were just doing your jobs." I tell them as Mizukiri and I walk through the gate and into the courtyard. "Now we just have to convince the rest of the division that you mean no harm."

"I'm sure everything will turn out just fine," Mizukiri tells me with a small smile on her face as she placed her hands on her hips. "I'm still worried about the other zanpakuto. Hopefully they figure things out before it's too late."

"Yeah," I say as my thoughts go, not to the other zanpakuto, but to a certain raven-haired shinigami captain known for keeping a stoic expression on his face. "I hope so too."

Byakuya's POV

"Have you lost your mind?!"

That is the first question the other zanpakuto, namely Kazeshini, ask I shunpo back to their position, my battle with Rukia's zanpakuto now over as I sense Senbonzakura's spiritual pressure move toward the battlefield, most likely to retrieve the blade pieces that was now Sode no Shirayuki's broken form.

In the end, Senbonzakura challenged me to kill Rukia's zanpakuto spirit in order to prove my worth to the others. I accepted that challenge, and now my sister's beloved zanpakuto is at the bottom of the chasm, totally useless now that she's in pieces. Or so we want the rest of them to think . . .

"On the contrary . . ." I tell him in my stoically. "Besides, you can't even begin to comprehend my mind."

"What was that? Are you trying to mock me?" Kazeshini growls in anger as he takes a step forward, but Muramasa blocks him from continuing his anger-filled approach. "Muramasa?"

"Enough Kazeshini," the long-nailed zanpakuto says as he turns to me. "We all know that a shinigami is as good as dead when they're blade is destroyed in battle. . . Byakuya Kuchiki, you are free to join us. I accept your resolve."

I've managed to get Muramasa to accept me in his ranks, but now, after what I have just done, I am starting to wonder if this decision will end up haunting me in the future.

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