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Zanpakuto Tales	By : shadoesong Category: Bleach > General Views: 1541 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and its characters, nor do I profit from this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 1

“Roar, Zabimaru!”
Byakuya held his sword to the side, easily blocking his Lieutenant's attack. Renji's eyes widened slightly when the noble vanished, using shunpo to get in behind him. Fortunately, he half expected it and was able to whip around and block the attack.
“Take that!” He yelled as he pulled his zanpakuto free and lunged at the Captain, who blocked his attack in turn. Through brute strength, he was able to send his Captain flying towards the ground. Unfazed, Byakuya held out his zanpakuto in front of him.
“Scatter, Senbonzakura.” The sword glowed a brilliant pink before vanishing into a thousand tiny blades. Renji hissed with frustration as a deadly wave of pink blades was sent hurtling towards him in three directions.
“Lieutenant!” Some of the lower level shinigami cried out when they saw their superior being pushed back, but the red haired man was not beaten yet.
“Bankai!” At the release, a huge explosion occurred, scattering the blades. Kyouraku Shunsui, who was also there to observe along with his Lieutenant, Ise Nanao, held his hat to prevent it from blowing away. Byakuya merely watched with an indifferent expression on his face as Renji came out of the explosion completely unharmed.
“Hihio Zabimaru!” By then, all of the shinigami from Squad 6 were yelling for whichever side they wanted to win, either Renji's or Byakuya's. The noble Captain's sword reformed and he released it, allowing it to sink into the ground.
“I had not forgotten about that,” he assured his Lieutenant as giant swords formed in two rows behind him. “But I am able to double Senbonzakura's speed by controlling it directly with my hands. Your slow Bankai will be unable to block it.”
At this, Renji's confident grin turned into a small, indignant frown. All of the sudden, one of the blades slashed across Byakuya's own hand. The man's eyes widened with surprise and he was slightly thrown off by the turn of events. Renji used the brief distraction to his own advantage as he lunged forward.
In a sea of pink, the blades surged towards the Lieutenant in a desperate attempt to stop him. Using his Bankai, the man dodged, but Byakuya wasted no time in sending his zanpakuto after him.
“Hikkotsu Taihou!” Renji yelled, swinging his zanpakuto forward as the blades collided with it. The snake head broke through the pink barrier and went straight for the noble Captain, a roiling ball of red reiatsu beginning to form in its mouth. Byakuya's eyes widened as the thing charged itself for the attack. At the absolute last second, the noble threw up his guard, saving him from the devastating attack. Renji landed on the ground in front of his superior. His grin had returned.
“Oi! Kuchiki!” Their fight was interrupted by a loud voice. It was Asaje Rin, the newest Captain of squad 5. She had messy brown hair that went down to just below her chin. Her piercing, blue eyes were narrowed in irritation. She wore a long sleeved Captain's haori over top of the usual shihakusho. She was also wearing white boots beneath her hakama and black, elbow length, fingerless gloves. At the moment, she was shoving her way through the crowd.
“Hurry the hell up with your fight. You promised lunch!” Byakuya ignored the woman as he reformed his weapon. Renji padded over with a cocky grin on his face. He chuckled.
“Heh. You used your Bankai.” He frowned, noticing that his Captain seemed distracted. “Captain, is something wrong?” Hearing this, Rin joined them.
“What happened?” She demanded.
“Nothing happened. That will be all for today, Abarai,” Byakuya said, sheathing his weapon and turning away. He paused when Shunsui, Nanao Ise, and Ukitake Jyuushiro came over, with the first clapping.
“My, that was impressive. What a fight!” The Captain of the 8^th Division, Shunsui, remarked.
“Lieutenant Abarai, you've really improved,” Ukitake, Captain of the 13^th Division, remarked with a broad smile.
“Indeed...” Rin agreed absentmindedly, gazing at Byakuya with narrowed eyes. Why did he seem so distracted?
“Come, Rin,” the noble Captain said, continuing to walk away.
“Byakuya?!” Ukitake exclaimed, also noticing that the man seemed off. He stepped between the noble and the exit.
“Excuse us,” Byakuya growled irritably, easily slipping past the man. Rin followed, giving the sickly Captain a curt nod as she passed.
“I'll drag a confession out of him,” she assured Ukitake, who gave her a relieved smile and a nod. She then quickened her pace to catch up to the noble.
“Oi, Kuchiki! What the hell is wrong with you today? You seem distracted.”
“There is nothing wrong. Where shall we go for lunch?” He asked, trying to take her mind away from the subject.
“Don't pull that type of shit on me,” the woman snarled, seeing through his attempts at distraction. That's when she caught sight of Byakuya's injured hand. She grabbed his wrist and halted, pulling him to a stop as well. When he tried to pull away, her grip tightened.
“This can't be from Renji, it's too shallow and you guys weren't fighting seriously... Care to explain?”
“...It is merely a cut.” He tried to leave it at that, but Rin refused to let go of him. He could feel her blue gaze boring into him. Finally, he relented: “It was caused by Senbonzakura.”
“...What? That's not possible...” Her voice dropped to a low murmur. “Unless you disallowed the no cut zone...?”
“I did not. That is what troubles me. There is no explanation for such an injury,” the man replied, his eyes closed.
“Hm...” Rin released his wrist and began walking once more. The man followed.
“There's something... Something I could try later, if you want. I can go into your inner world using the Sword Sense and see if there's something wrong. How about it?” She asked. The man knew she still wasn't completely comfortable using her Sword Sense. He was about to refuse, but she glared.
“Don't say no because you're worried about me. I need to get used to it at some point. We'll do it at your office later. Now, how about we get some lunch? I know a really nice place that just opened up; they have really good food!”
*~*~*~*
Snow and ice swirled around Toshiro, making the air cool and the sky darken with storm clouds. The small Captain stood immobile within, his eyes closed and his hand clenching his sword, which he held in front of him. Even the trees in the surrounding area had frozen solid. A patch of ice began to form beneath the Captain's feet, spreading quickly across the ground and creating a large circle around him. It began to glow.
“Hyourinmaru!” Toshiro spoke, opening his eyes.
He swung his sword to the side. Abruptly, the patch of ice extended, seeming to cover the whole area, even the sky. It created somewhat of a void around the young Captain. The power swept Toshiro's haori into the air, its only anchor being its position around his shoulders. Hyourinmaru's blade then disappeared into blue-white mist, disappearing in the wind. The hilt soon followed, joining the tumbling chaos in the air above.
A blue ice dragon flew from the heavens, called by Toshiro's will. It gave a deafening roar as it approached, but the small Captain did not flinch. Not even when the huge creature landed on the ground before him. As the howling of the wind died down, Toshiro spoke.
“What's wrong?” He asked the spirit, sensing the spirit's unease. The creature hissed deeply, watching his master with solid red eyes. The small Captain held up his hand towards it. Just as the dragon began to reach down to nuzzle his palm, it disappeared into a sparkling mist, carried off into the wind. Toshiro withdrew his hand with a small gasp, shocked by this development. He was holding his weapon in his grasp once more.
“What just happened?” He murmured to himself, gazing at his sword. He looked up when he heard a voice behind him.
“Toshiro? Something wrong?” It was Kawasuzu Aika, Captain of Squad 3, who was shivering and rubbing her arms in an attempt to keep warm. She had arrived early for lunch and was waiting patiently for him to finish.
She had also changed her appearance since the events in the Valley of Screams. There were three braids located above her right ear. The top one had three green beads braided into it, the middle braid had three blue beads, and the bottom had three yellow beads. Before he could answer, something came flying out of the nearby window, accompanied by irritated yelling.
“Come out already!”
“Matsumoto!” He yelled. Toshiro turned around, his eyebrow twitching. He stomped inside with Aika following.
“Come on out, Haineko!” Rangiku growled, slamming her weapon, tip first, into the floor so it stood on its own. She ran around the room, searching.
“You'd better not be ignoring me! How dare you call me an old lady?! Quit being such a bitch!” She pouted as Toshiro and Aika entered the office.
“Oi...” Toshiro growled. Aika peered over his shoulder at Rangiku, barely able to contain her laughter at her friend's antics.
“Are you listening?!” Rangiku said to her zanpakuto, completely ignoring her Captain. “You're such a brat!”
She huffed, collapsing into the couch. “You're ridiculous, selfish, and fickle! I'd like to see who made such a useless zanpakuto-” Suddenly, Toshiro appeared behind the couch.
“Matsumoto!” He yelled, making her jump. “Why are you making such a scene?” He growled when he caught her attention. Aika appeared beside him.
“Something about your 'ridiculous, selfish, and fickle' zanpakuto? I wonder where she gets it from.” Aika sighed. Rangiku stared at them with wide eyes.
“Don't startle me like that you two!” She whined. “I was just having a nice conversation with my zanpakuto!”
“...” Aika shook her head. “Not a very peaceful one...”
“I agree with that.” The Captain sighed, his eyebrow twitching.
“I'm coming in!” Their conversation was interrupted when a voice came from behind the office door. It was Momo and Isane. “Hello, Rangiku-san, Shiro-chan, and Captain Kawasuzu!”
“Hinamori-san! Isane!” Rangiku exclaimed upon seeing the two woman.
“Quit calling me that!” Toshiro warned irritably, while Aika just smiled and nodded her greeting. Ignoring her Captain, Rangiku asked.
“What are you two doing here?” Momo walked over and handed the woman a paper.
“This. It's an announcement for the next Lieutenant's meeting.”
“Thank you, Hinamori-san,” Rangiku said, looking the paper over. Noticing that Toshiro was studying her closely, Momo turned to her childhood friend.
“What is it, Shiro-chan?” She asked innocently, teasing the small Captain.
“You're doing it on purpose!” He snapped. The white haired Captain's eyebrow began to twitch again.
“Ah, Rangiku-san?” Isane spoke up. She was gazing at the other Lieutenant's sword that was still stuck in the floor. “What on earth are you doing?!”
The woman scoffed. “Talking with my zanpakuto.”
“And not succeeding,” Aika cut in. Rangiku folded her arms over her chest and pouted, but didn't make a remark.
“We've been fighting some tough opponents lately, so I thought I'd try do some training, you know? But stupid Haineko won't come out! She's so useless...” Momo's eyes widened.
“Eh?! Don't say that! You shouldn't speak poorly of your own zanpakuto,” She insisted. “You should be more understanding of her.”
“You're wasting your breath, Hinamori-san. Jinsoku and I get along just fine. You just need to find some common ground,” Aika told Rangiku.
“That's because you're easy to get along with!” The blond haired woman whined. “Haineko is just impossible...”
“Well, when I was depressed, Tobiume was worried about me. That's when I realized that I wasn't alone!” Momo smiled, holding the remaining papers to her chest.
“Even your zanpakuto was worried about you?” Aika murmured beneath her breath. The young woman's confession was telling of how dire her situation was.
“Actually, speaking of zanpakuto...” Isane began hesitantly. “For the past two or three days, Itegumo hasn't been very responsive...”
Aika blinked. Jinsoku Koshi was very quiet lately, as well. They were quite close, and she found it odd that he hadn't talked with her in a few days. Now that she knew that the other Lieutenants were having the same problem, it worried her a little. She didn't voice these concerns, however.
“Yours, too?!” Rangiku exclaimed.
“Yeah... This has never happened before...” Isane replied. Aika frowned when she saw Toshiro's eyes widen slightly.
“Your zanpakuto, too?” She whispered.
“I'm not sure... I was trying to speak with Hyourinmaru, but he disappeared before he could reply. Maybe this is all connected?” His gaze met Aika's. “What about your zanpakuto?”
“Jinsoku Koshi...” The small woman murmured. “I haven't been able to talk with him, either. I hadn't thought it was all that serious until now...” Toshiro nodded.
“Come on,” he said, turning and walking away with Aika following.
“Eh? Where are you going, Shiro-chan!” Momo exclaimed.
“I still have work to do, you fool.” He waved her off easily.
“But we brought some sweet fermented beans that Captain Unohana gave to us!” The other said, hoping to make him stay.
“Captain, we should have a tea party!” Rangiku exclaimed.
“A tea party with you would only turn into a drink fest. We can't stay, unfortunately. Rin wanted us to join her for lunch. She has some concerns that she wants to share.” That was a lie, but, now that she thought about it, maybe she could help. She had always been at odds with her zanpakuto spirits, Futago and Akuma, but mostly the latter, even when Aika had first met her. Hopefully, she would be able to offer helpful advice. Unless she was having the same problems as them, which would be worrisome. When they got outside the Division, Toshiro thanked her.
“I assume you wish to see Asaje about this?”
“Yes. It would be a good idea...” Aika replied before they both disappeared.
*~*~*~*
“Eh? What are you doing here, Aika? I thought it was your day off,” Rin said when Toshiro and Aika came their table. She noted the grave looks on their faces, but didn't make a comment.
“There is something we must discuss, Rin,” Aika said, sitting down beside her friend. “I apologize for disturbing a lunch between you and Byakuya-sama.”
“Discuss what?” Rin leaned forward, slightly intrigued. What could Aika be coming to her for? “Because I can get rid of Kuchiki if it's private.”
“No, it's fine if Kuchiki hears this as well,” Toshiro replied. The tall woman just shrugged and leaned back in her chair.
“Only a suggestion. So, what's up? It better not be anything stupid, because I had plans after this,” she growled.
“I assure you, Rin, that this is an important matter. Toshiro and I have been unable to communicate with our zanpakuto properly for the past two or three days,” Aika explained. Byakuya and Rin exchanged surprised glances, making the other two worry even more. What did they know? Rin leaned forward once more, her expression suddenly grim.
“Did it attack you in any way?” She asked seriously. Surprised, Aika shook her head.
“Why would our zanpakuto attack us?” With a brief glance of confirmation at Byakuya, Rin continued.
“Kuchiki had that happen during a practice fight. Also...” She hesitated, making the noble Captain raise a questioning eyebrow.
“What do you know, Rin?” He demanded.
“You know it was my day off a couple of days ago, right? And you came in the room looking for me while I was sleeping mid day. You said you were surprised because I was awake at that point. Well, I was awake because I had the weirdest feeling... Ominous is the only way I can describe it. I dismissed it as weird dreams that I couldn't remember, but... Now that I think about it, it kinda felt like Futago Akuma's power was coursing through me. The only difference was that it was darker than usual.”
“What do you think it was?” Byakuya questioned.
“I don't know, but Futago always keeps things from me if he thinks it'll keep me out of danger. I haven't heard from either them, but I'm not able to speak with them very well outside of my inner world still. Aizen seriously screwed that up.” In fact, she couldn't even enter her inner world through meditation like other shinigami anymore.
“What are you talking about?” Her friend asked. Rin waved her off.
“Nothing. It's just that something's wrong, and I don't like it.”
*~*~*~*
That afternoon, after lunch, Byakuya locked the door to the office so that he and Rin could do what they needed in private. They stood in the centre of the room facing each other. Rin was gazing up at him.
“You're ready?” She asked.
“Go ahead,” he confirmed.
With a single nod, Rin placed one hand on either side of his face and met his gaze. She activated the Sword Sense forcefully and was swept into her husband's inner world. As soon as she was there, she knew something was wrong. She felt a strange power coursing through her, one she was unfamiliar with. There was a voice echoing in her ears, beckoning her. She shuddered at the eeriness of it.
All of the sudden, a warning bolt of pain worked its way into her head. She cried out and placed her hands to her head. The voice became louder. It was scathing, telling her to leave. Scorning her existence. She cried out again once more as the pain persisted. As fast as she could, she withdrew from Byakuya's inner world.
When she opened her eyes, she found that the noble Captain was holding her closely. She groaned in relief as the pain ebbed.
“Are you alright?” The man asked, his gaze wild with concern.
“I am, but your zanpakuto isn't. There was this voice there, calling to it. Since I can experience what Senbonzakura was feeling, I could hear it as well. It must have known I was there, because it lashed out and told me to leave. Something's seriously wrong. I'm sorry... I wasn't able to stay long enough to find out what.” She closed her eyes, feeling a little ashamed. They reopened when the man brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek.
“Do not be sorry. It was not your doing. I will report this to the Head-Captain tomorrow. You have no need to worry,” he assured her.
“I wasn't worried!” Rin snapped irritably, making the man smirk. She then pulled away from him. “It's too hot in here. I'm going to wait outside for you to finish whatever where it's cooler. See ya.”

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Zanpakuto Tales