desiderium

     “It is not often that people respond to that by trying       to stab me – I don’t think injuring someone’s       zanpakutō spirit would go well.”

His voice came with a low chuckle, making his way over to the smaller shinigami and peering down at him from his skull sockets.

     “Had you merely ran away I wouldn’t have cared, but I       suppose I do have to apologize if it startled you enough       to have to attack me; I wanted to see how your daily life       was like since spirits don’t often materialize in the world.”

He stopped for a moment, sighed out and decided to at least introduce himself.

He knew better than to let his guard down. He knew but... but this was the first time he’d seen another zanpakuto spirit, let alone one that could move around without having it’s master near. Surely he could speak with it, if only for a moment. He wasn’t close to the fourth seat of the fourth division, but he knew enough about him to know that the man himself wasn’t the belligerent sort and surely his zanpakuto would be somewhat similar, right?

He chose to ignore the fact that Urushi exemplified all of his bad habits. Kaizen was not him, nor did he have the same... issues. Besides, he had gotten in trouble before for being too accepting. He could deal to be a bit more curious. 

“I am-”

“Urushi. Zanpakuto of the boy here.” A sharp, feminine voice cut through the air, and Ren’s head snapped up as a familiar mass of swirling black and red emerged in front of him with little more preamble than the slight clicking of her hooves. It was the first time he truly heard her voice rather than having her intentions sent straight to his head, and Ren found himself admiring the chime and tenor of it. It was a nice voice. It matched her face and appearance, and he had just enough time to think that it would have been nice if her personality matched as well before she swished her tail and nearly sent him careening into a wall. 

Send me a Zanpakutou and my muse will tell you:

Zangetsu - How they experienced their zan’s creation

Nozarashi - How long it took them to control their sword

Zabimaru - How strong they are connected to their sword

Hozukimaru - What their favourite zan’s abilities are

Reppu - How long it took them to get bankai

Kazeshini - How long it took them to get shikai

Gegetsuburi - When they heard their zan’s name for the first time

Tenken - If they’ve ever lost connection to their sword

Sanpo Kenju - If their families approve of their swords

Ruri’iro Kujaku - How they like the style of their sword

Minazuku - Whether they’d wished for different abilities for their sword

Benihime - Whether their sword is too dangerous for others to see

Suzumushi - Whether they’d refine their zan’s however possible

Hisagomaru - Their first reaction to seeing their zan’s true form

Kinshara - What makes them a good wielder

Katen Kyokotsu - Whether they’re scared of their zan’s spirit

Sogyo no Kotowari - Whether they love their zan’s spirit

Wabisuke - Whether they can always rely on their zan

Ichimonji - How being a shinigami has changed their life

Sumitsukigasa - How their life was like before they had a zan

Raiku - How good they were at the Shino Academy

Arazome Shigure - What zan resembles theirs

Shinken Hakkyouken - What other zan they admire

Tsunzakigarasu - If they could imagine a life without their zan

Daichimaru - Whether they’re jealous of someone else’s zan’s abilities

Ashisogi Jizō - If a zan can be used for anything else but fighting

Kyouka Suigetsu - What problems their zans cause sometimes

Sakanade - Whether they tried to control someone else’s zan before

Muramasa - What makes their zan the best zan (to them)

Ryuujin Jakka - How old their zan is, spiritually compare to them

Tengumaru - What they could do to improve themself

Raika - If they have special secrets for their fighting techniques

Tobiume - How dear their zan is to them

Hyourinmaru - Whether their zan has ever stopped talking to them

Sode no Shirayuki - If they ever used their zan outside the Seireitei

Tsuchinamazu - How many hollows they’ve ever killed 

Tachikaze - Whether their zan was ever taken away from them

Nejibana - If they prefer bankai or shikai

Benishidare - If they would deny reaching bankai to save someone’s life

Gonryomaru - How long it takes to recover their zan after an attack

Nijigasumi - What they thought seeing their friend’s zans the first time

Senbonsakura - Whether they’d use their zans against family 

Suzumebachi - If one ability of their zan is not fair

Shinso - If they have ever used their zan against the law

Haineko - Whether they ever doubted their zan’s abilities

Engetsu - What their zan’s spirit whisper to them sometimes

So he had slept straight, today.

That was a good sign.

Washing up was an ordeal with just about the same amount of excitement; Ren washed his face, carded his fingers through his hair- perhaps in another time he would have double checked to make sure he was presentable, but his hair was the same length as ever, as black as ever, and it would be a waste of time.

Any stray ends he could just slice off with a tantou. 

Urushi slid into the sash on his waist with ease, and Ren rested a hand atop her hilt to cant her just enough that the tip of her sheathe lifted off of the ground. She was a huge sword, and he’d been told time and time again that he should wear her on his back or carry her over his shoulder with a cord, but neither of those felt right. He thought of her weight on his hip as he walked and sighed.

He hoped zanjutsu wouldn’t be a big part of the day, but he doubted it. Nagamaki’s were large and awkward, and the only time he had some semblance of grace wielding her was when he put his full weight in each swing; and that was also only when he decided to slice with intent. He could swap her out with a bokken, he was sure; but his skill with a katana length sword was a century out of practice and he saw no point in practicing with a blade he would not own or use. So, awkward with his sword, and weak with his kido. His interpersonal skills were somewhat lacking and he refused to use aggressive hakuda unless willing to incapacitate someone.

Why had he decided to sign up for this again?

Ren scowled at himself as he quickened his pace in hopes of reaching his destination before his own thoughts could ambush him- it would do him good to see the rest of his division and the 6th Division besides. He’d signed up to get some fresh air, and surely his own captain already knew what his skill set was; regardless of what Captain Kuchiki would wind up saying of him. It was just like him to fret before the camp started- he was certain that once it actually did start he’d be fine. Perhaps if he were allowed to tie Urushi’s sheathe onto her blade he could swing as hard as he wanted to. If the floors were padded, he could throw some people as well.

A bitter toil of months would follow, disguised as weeks that would pass as days. For mere mortals the slow but certain decay of time was precious; to the noble it was only a blink of an eye. A mere fraction of a second not fully passed.

This was a stepping stone not to be taken lightly. A strengthening of bonds.

The courtyard of the rokubantai in the light of dawn was tranquil, still fully enraptured by the late slumber of twilight. But the earnestness of war was still present, solemn expressions and dark lines carved onto the faces of his subordinates. Only few of whom were cloaked in black wandered the paths, their duties already having called for them, beckoning. He could not bring himself to pity those unfortunate enough to have faced death — Kuchiki Byakuya had known loss. An emotion of the unwanted kind.

Taichou?

With a subtle lowering of his head did he dismiss them, the bokken that now lay in his hands familiar. Recollections followed. A warming of the sun on his skin, the soft touch of the passing breeze. The grip he held onto it tightened. Polished wood, a deep color, its weight nothing more but child’s play. Slender fingers trailed a path Byakuya could recall in memory with practiced ease. Grey hues closed in concentration, shoulder blades moving at his every command, hands in motion.

Zanjutsu accounted for just one of the four fighting techniques. A basic necessity, yet a vital skill for each Shinigami to possess. Today would only decide the weaknesses of the hachibantai, the peril decisive of life and death. Luxuries could not be afforded.

Everything has been prepared like you requested, Kuchiki-taichou.

“ …Good, ” left his parted lips, the bokken now forlorn on the ground before him. “ Assign the early arrivals to their places. It is only a matter of time before the remaining men will come. ”

The 10th Division’s lieutenant had done what she does best once again, and Ren had found himself straddled with much more work than any other sane officer would have (and he had to carry it back himself, honestly, he wasn’t sure why he let her nudge him around like this- it definitely wasn’t for the snacks) attempting in vain to carry a fourth of it back to his barracks in one piece. It wasn’t going so well, and Ren had been about to run around and answer with a sheepish ‘no, but I’ll probably manage somehow’ before he saw the face that the voice belonged to and promptly shut his mouth.

The 4th Division’s fourth seat. 

Wonderful.

&& [[ BONUS: put a STRIKE THROUGH each trait that they USED to have, but have unlearned due to character development, trauma, etc. - feel free to add more! ]]

s t r e n g t h s :

caring | merciful | brave | determined | forward | flexible | cheerful | wise | clever | humorous | spirited | lighthearted | mature | strong | sentient | generous | loving | calm | calculative | rational | unselfish | controlled | tactful | nurturing | protective | independent

w e a k n e s s e s :

Boredom had pulled the spirit to wander around the Seireitei, to bore his pupils on stray shinigami and comment in his own mind on how he’d imagine their personality is simply from their posture and actions. 

There were a variety of reasons why-- the shifted necessity of food, being able to walk on air, having another person in your head; the list went on and on.

The thing that Ren arguably missed the most, however, was being able to sense people. 

It wasn’t that they just disappeared, no, one could even say that his senses got better after he died. But as a human you could never really completely hide your presence, whereas as a spirit you could literally disappear. Even from his more peaceful times as a maiko, Ren liked knowing where people were. It kept him from freaking out, and it kept him sane. But that safety of knowing was gone now, replaced by an inexplicable prickling of the skin at the back of his neck and the slight increase in the beat of his heart.

Currently, he had the oddest feeling of being watched. He couldn’t sense any other shinigami, Urushi was being oddly quiet for once, and-

‘...Urushi?’

‘Look down, idiot.’