Part 1

Akira woke suddenly and his finger already pulled the trigger. The bullet would shatter through the attack and into it's sender, and it had enough power to blast them all to dust.

However the attack stopped, and Akira was holding a normal zanpakuto again.

"You've done well enough." he says, snapping his fingers and forcing them both back into the real world. Akira's eyes shot open as he looked over to his subordinate. He kept the spell held strong, and the wall that was imprisoning Atsūmi did not disappear.


Mitsukinori dropped the spell. Her zanpakuto would be done for as soon as it broke free. It would have no choice but to yield to Natsuki, though that didn't mean it would accept her completely. As the phoenix burst out of the icy prison he watched with avid awareness.


Stare.

"C-come on Children. Can't we just get along?" a voice asked behind the zanpakuto, and with a shriek from the zanpakuto it was sent flying across the landscape. The trees it hit exploded into dust as it flew through hundreds of them. Kokami laughed. "May have been a bit overboard, but THAT thing is something else." and she vanished. Was she going to finish off the zanpakuto?

Sinthia didn't like this. Even though they hadn't done much, she was so excited to fight her zanpakuto.

SO excited.

The phoenix's fire was weak and some areas no longer burnt at all. Its head flicked quickly around, examining its new environment. "What have you done?! Green-hair emotional wreck supposed to fight, not ice boy!" It screeched angrily. Natsuki lowered her eyebrows and scoffed, though she understood the meaning of the mocking words. She was supposed to prove herself but Mitsukinori had just... torn it apart. "Now cannot fight! Would've lost, you would have!" The last of its fire fizzled out. It let out a frustrated scream. Natsuki flinched.

There was a moment of silence. Natsuki stared at the suffering bird as it moved and slipped across the ice angrily. "To you..." The phoenix growled weakly as it neared them. "...No choice, but yield..."

Natsuki gave a small smile. "Get sword..." It said quietly.

She turned toward the place where she had left her sword and walked towards it. She bent down, picked it up, and returned to her original location. The phoenix stared her in the eyes for a moment before suddenly bursting into flame. She jumped back a ways in surprise, eyes wide. Before them, the phoenix reduced itself to ash. As though there was no gravity, the ash held its shape and did not fall.

There was a couple seconds of silence before the ashes suddenly flew towards her. Well... not towards her. She watched as the ashes flew into her zanpakuto, repairing it, and leaving it glowing with a heat that was quickly cooling. She stared at it, holding it loosely in her hand. She heard a faint, harsh whisper in her ear.

Hou-ou, my name is... Reborn, make me be... Be... Reborn...

She glanced between Mitsukinori and her zanpakuto. "I... I got it..." She took in a deep breath. "Be reborn, Hou-ou...?"

Fire erupted in her hand, though she felt no pain. Her katana straightened and elongated as she looked at it. It turned into a glowing, long stick of blinding, golden light that sent heat waves into the air. She felt her jaw drop in awe. "Ah..."

Shapes formed on opposite sides of each end of the stick, and as the flames died down and the light dimmed, she stood in awe of her new... weapon.

(thas the best you get 'cause nathan rushed me)

In the reflection of her new blade she saw that her hair had grown thick, curly, and long... like it was before she was dead. Except, it still maintained the green color. She ran her other hand through it, nostalgia and admiration clouding her emotions. I look good... She noticed that her eyes were also two different colors now--one had become red while the other remained gold. The whites of her robes had also become red, and her robe's sleeves disappeared, leaving her arms bare as to give her more mobility. She smiled and looked over at Mitsukinori. Or Hyoki. Whatever they were called together.

Akira snapped his fingers and they were back in the room.

Atsumi looked around only to see that they were still separated from Natsuki and Sinthia.

She looked...no sstared at the Captain. Her eyes almost piercing through him. Meh. Whatever. She laid back, putting her arms behind her head and closed her eyes. Yuu, Ki-chan, I'm going to sleep while we wait for the walls to come down. Wake me up when shit starts happening.

Kokami returned with Sinthia's zanpakuto, and she kneed it in the face. It fell back and yelled a little bit before glaring at Kokami. "You get out of here or you'll die, idiot." the zanpakuto said, and it flung itself into Kokami. It was only showing half of its true power. What a weakling these two were! Kokami lifted her hand, and then felt a sword stab through her side and out of her. At first she just flinched and her joints bent slightly, but she got over it. Then she coughed up blood as the blade was pulled out again. Her eyes widened and she looked at the sword.

This time, it actually pierced her.

"W-what?! How!?" she was astounded. She took a few steps back, and the zanpakuto burst into laughter. "I kill you now. You can't move because your spinal cord is broken." it swung again, and before Kokami could react the blade was at her throat, a loud ping audible to the world around them.

The zanpakuto screamed.

Sinthia laughed.

She stabbed it in the back, and her blade had stopped the zanpakuto's, sparing Kokami her life.

"Now..." Sinthia said, jumping onto her sword and wrapping her arm around the zanpakuto's neck. "Die."

The zanpakuto smiled through the pain.

"As you wish, Sinthia." it said, and then vanished into her zanpakuto. As she fell she looked at Kokami, and then quickly got her balance upon landing.

"I thought you were strong." Sinthia said, and Kokami laughed.

"I thought you were stupid."

Sinthia picked up her zanpakuto, and then sheathed it.

This'll be fun.

Her eyes shot open as she looked around the room again, still separated by walls of energy from the others.

Akira looked at the blood flowing from Kokami's mouth, and she wiped it away, healing her internal organs. They both dropped the spell, and then looked at the three pupils in the center.

Long day...


Mitsukinori watched the whole thing, and then suddenly they were being pulled out of the world, and he dropped the spell at once, along with his Bankai.

To think they were the last ones out. Kind of funny, actually.

Natsuki's eyes opened slowly and she scanned the room, taking in the familiar surroundings. The cool air felt strange on her skin. It made her fatigue more severe. She turned quickly to her friends, a wide smile on her face. She felt very excited about her shikai, but a weight was heavy in her stomach because she hadn't talked to them about anything that had happened yet. Maybe they were feeling a bit off, too.

So, she jumped lunged at them, wrapped an arm around each of them, pulled them together, and hugged them. It didn't last long, for she caught a glimpse of Kokami over Sinthia's head.

Her heart dropped.

She let go and quickly turned back to the corner that Tsukishi had once stood in. Now, he was lying on the ground.

Dead.

Because of her.

She hurried over to him, her smile gone. What'llIdoKokami'sgoingtobesomadIkilledhimIkilledhimHisbloodisonmyhandsHedidn'thavetodieIwastooslowtooslowtooslowtoostupid

Atsumi felt multiple people around her. She sat up and opened her eyes, rubbing her right with her hand. Naturally they were droopy from just waking up but quickly changed due to an arm wrapping around her. She followed the arm and was relieved when she saw it belonged to Natsuki. 

At least she seems to be a bit better then she was before.

She had spoken too soon. Natsuki's arms vanished as fast as they had wrapped around them. She was looking at the body of the lieutenant. Kiyoko's voice rang in Atsumi's head. "Oi...She's panicking. All the water in her body is heating up, some of it's moving stupid fast. What is she gettin upset of? It's just a dead body." Figures the one who controls water would be able to sense everything about it.

Atsumi got up walking over to the body. When she passed by Natsuki she put her jacket on her head. I hope that's enough for now. Kneeling before the body she took Yuuwa off of her shoulder placing her on the Lieutenant.

This time Yuuwa spoke aloud, so everyone in the room could hear her. "I can't do anything about this. The brain is dead. If there isn't a brain there is no chance of me healing anything. It's impossible, sorry."

Atsumi leaned back before mumbling "Well...was worth a try, I guess."

Kokami was there in a flash, her spiritual pressure violent. Sinthia fell forward unable to breath as it passed her, the amount of it enough to make Mitsukinori fell to his knees and started breathing heavily. Akira was up just as fast, and watched with apprehension. Tears started streaming from Kokami's eyes as she bent over and felt for the lieutenant's pulse. Nothing, her anger rose almost as quickly as her spiritual pressure, and she clenched her fist hard. She looked at Natsuki, wanting something to take her anger out on, and threw her fist.

Akira, however, appeared just as fast and stopped it by grabbing the punch. Something felt off, as though there was more to it than just that. Kokami looked into Akira's eyes, and gave a false smile.

"Just what..." she choked for a second as she cried. "I'd expect from the former Captain Commander." she says, and his look was more than grave. He let go, and she walked away from the area, her fist still clenched as though she were ready to punch something.

Akira would not let harm come to them after all they've been through.

Kokami threw a punch at the wall, slightly stronger than the one Akira stopped.

The entire room shattered as an explosive force entered the wall. Akira snapped his fingers and all of them left the room.

Except for Kokami.

"Let her release her anger. She was really close to her brother."

He then looked fell backwards and passed out.

She had knelt down a ways from the body and she was surprised when Atsumi put a jacket over her head. Natsuki appreciated what her friend had tried to accomplish, but she quickly grabbed the jacket and put it on the floor next to her. She didn't want to hide from the situation.

Kokami suddenly was at Tsukishi's side, and with her appearance came a huge wave of violent spiritual pressure that caused her to fall onto all fours, her vision fading into darkness. However, she managed to hold onto consciousness. Natsuki could feel Kokami's despair, and it brought tears to her own eyes. "I-I'm sorry, I di-didn't know what he was g-g-going to do!" She whimpered weakly. "I wa-waited too long to d-d-d-dodge a-and... he... j-jumped in f-front of m-me-e..."

There was suddenly the sound of skin hitting skin, though she couldn't see what happened. The light-headedness was becoming too much to bear.

The words started to hum together just as everyone was transported out of the room and into another by Akira. She took in a deep breath, opened her eyes, and upon regaining her strength; raised herself onto her knees.

"Let her release her anger. She was really close to her brother."

"Come on..." She whispered, her hair falling over her face as her hands clenched into fists. Her nails dug into her palms painfully. I'm not going to get a break, am I? She said, tears once again spilling over her cheeks. HerbrotherherbrotherherbrotherherbrothergoodgoingHowcansheforgiveme

Will I ever be able to... She took in a sharp breath, wiped her eyes, and rose to her feet. Her eyes were blank as she flashed her gaze at the group. Then, she averted her gaze to the ground, her stance a little stiff.

The situation was getting a bit stuffy for Atsumi's taste. She spoke out to the captain "Hey, girl time. You aren't allowed in." As she said that she brought her hand up to Yuuwa. Bite it. When you do let it bleed till I say. Yuuwa complied and bit her hand, biting deep enough for blood to flow out.

She used Kiyoko's power to control water to manipulate the water in her blood plasma. It was hard to do though since she was only used to manipulating water itself.

She pulled more blood out of her body letting her make a thick tentacle. She extended it towards Sinthia and slowly pulled her in with it. She was breaking out in sweat and her face was getting pale. Fuck this shit is hard to do..."Could you help me out Sinthia and walk over here?" she said while looking at her, pupils dilating. Losing control for a second, it retracted yanking Sinthia closer. "S-So-rrr-y" she was losing consciousness from having so much blood pulled out of her so quickly.

She thinned the tentacle, letting blood back into her body, making her feel better instantly. When Sinthia was close enough, she stopped pulling nudging her towards them and extended her arm upwards. The tentacle straightened out before expanding around them. It formed a hollowed bubble around them. It was thin, but it was enough to muffle what they were talking about. Now Yuu. The wound inflicted by Yuu closed then healed. 

"Alright...we sh-should...a-air out any dirty...laundry w-while we have the chance to rest. What happened with you two...when...Kokami made us relive...fhuck it you know what i'm..talkin about" she was panting heavily between words. She looked at the two in front of her waiting for one of them to start talking.

Sinthia didn't move willingly, she was too exhausted.

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

Natsuki watched as Atsumi created a blood tentacle to pull Sinthia close and then create a little dome around them. She didn't really understand why she was doing it until she spoke weakly. "Alright...we sh-should...a-air out any dirty...laundry w-while we have the chance to rest. What happened with you two...when...Kokami made us relive...fhuck it you know what i'm..talkin about"

Natsuki pursed her lips and looked to the ground. She didn't want to talk about now, of all times. When she saw Sinthia sleeping, she realized that all she wanted to do was sleep and hope to not dream about death, too. Would getting everything out in the air make everything better or make it harder to ignore? I'm being melodramatic. It's the past now. I need to accept it, stop worrying about it, get it off my chest, and stop being a crybaby. She sighed and shrugged. I have more important things to worry about now... in the present. She recalled the feeling of Tsukishi's reiatsu disappearing beside her.

And then, she met Atsumi's heterochromic eyes.

She then, in a monotone whisper of a voice, recalled the main events of the last years of her life. Her eyes averted to the ground for the majority of her story.

Her father's arrest. Her brother's cruelty. Her mother's indifference. Hanaki. Being abandoned by Ginjiro and friends. Lonely days. The cliff. An unintended, painful death. When she was done she looked up at Atsumi and faked a smile. She was proud that she hadn't cried. One step closer to forgetting. Her shoulders felt much, much lighter. Without giving her a chance to comment, she pressed Atsumi to tell her story. "What about you?"

Atsumi sat there and listened to Natsuki's story. Color returned to her face and breathing returned to normal. Damn. She's had a rough life. Yuuwa spoke directly into her mind "That's a bit of an understatement, poor thing." 

"What about you?"

Atsumi looked at her. Her vision was kinda blurry, but was clearing slowly. 

"Well... I was born. Then when i was still little my mother left my father, myself, and my brothers. It was really tough for a while. My father had to raise myself and my two brother by himself while paying off his debt that he and my mom had accumulated. He took out loans, had to beg for pay early. In the worst cases my father and I went hungry so that we could feed my brothers. Loan sharks came by every so often and beat the shit out of my father when we didn't have the money. I usually tried to stop them only to get hurt in the process. Our landlord usually stopped them though. Not many people can be brave when a gun is pointed at them."

She paused to quell the tightness in her throat. 

"After that I got a job as soon as I could to help with bills. We were able to scrape by and slowly pay off our debt. We struggled for about a year. Then my father got hired at a company and started making pretty decent money. When we were stable again my father got remarried. Things were good for a bit, but then my mom caught wind of what was happening. She couldn't stand the idea of my brothers being raised by another woman. So she found out where we lived and showed up one day. I got home, saw a puddle, went towards it and saw a trail leading to my fathers room. Opened the door brothers and stepmothers were one the bed. They were dead. My mom attacked me and tried to kill me too. I got on top of her and went crazy. When i stopped there was a pile of meat that sued to be my mother. Went through court was judged innocent but my father didn't feel comfortable around me. Then i went and moved in with my friend and her family. They trained me in martial arts cause of their unique style. Then I was in a building. Then i was falling out of it. Hit the ground. Was impaled in my leg stomach and shoulder. Then I became a shinigami and ended up here."

She took in a deep breath and exhaled. She took off her geta and brought her knees into her chest. "Anyways, guess that explains why you looked off. Atsumi looked at Sinthia for a second before looking back at Natsuki. I feel like a mother.

Sinthia stirred a bit, and then slowly brought herself awake. As she looked around she noticed the captain was sleeping. This brought to her attention that they were done with what they were doing.

And then she remembered Kokami.

"What the hell was that?!" she exclaimed as she looked at the two of them. "That was ridiculous!" and then she remembered her zanpakuto, and looked at it with a smile. "Hello, how are you doing?" she asked it, and its voice rang through her mind.

I am not doing well at all, you stupid child. Can't wait to kill you. Can't. Fricken. Wait.

She giggled. Her zanpakuto was perfect.

She turned her attention back to Sinthia. She was waking up. 

"What the hell was that?! That was ridiculous!"

Atsumi stared at her with a puzzled look. "What are you talkin about?"

Then she heard a giggle leave her. Was her experience when fighting her zanpakuto that pleasant?
She remembered her fight with Yuuwa. Everyone else fought their own zanpakuto too. 

She was going to ask what theirs was like but decided against it, given the events that had just transpired.

Natsuki listened intently to Atsumi's life story. When she was finished, Natsuki pushed the hair back from her face and sighed. "That's horrible. I'm sorry." She said.

"Anyways, guess that explains why you looked off."

"Yeah, probably." She said, casting her eyes back to the floor. She felt a little embarrassed for dwelling in self-pity all day. She was happy she could move past it now, though.

Suddenly Sinthia was stirring. She looked over at her.

"What the hell was that?! That was ridiculous!" She began exclaiming. Then she looked creepily at her zanpakuto, smiled, and began speaking to it. She then giggled to herself. Natsuki raised a brow at her.

Sinthia looked up at the faces of her... Peers. They looked almost quizzical. In turn she raised her brow, and looked at their own zanpakuto.

"What's the matter? You zanpakuto not as satisfying as you were hoping it to be?" she jested, and she grinned maliciously.

Atsumi didn't take offense to what Sinthia had said. Kiyoko did though. He spat a blob of ink at sinthia that hit her in the middle of her forhead.

There was a slight pause. Atsumi's face slowly changed. She started laughing loudly and had to force herself to stop after a couple of seconds. "I don't know that was pretty damn satisfying."

Sinthia raised her brow at Natsuki and Atsumi. "What's the matter? You zanpakuto not as satisfying as you were hoping it to be?" She said, summoning a hostile grin.

At this statement, a blob of ink splattered onto Sinthia's forehead. Natsuki couldn't help but guffaw, and when she heart Atsumi burst into laughter, she giggled. It felt good. "I don't know that was pretty damn satisfying."

She scanned Sinthia's face, nervous as to what she was going to do.

Sinthia's face changed to anger in an instant, and her zanpakuto resonated it.

Are you going to let that go? Stupid girl!

Sinthia was in anger, she lunged toward the zanpakuto in anger. If all else failed, she'd just re-

"Sleeeeep."

Akira had woken up, and his hand moved across each of their faces in a second. Sinthia's eyes started to close slowly, and then she fell asleep.

Just as Sinthia was about to get violent...

Sleeeeeep. A hand passed over Natsuki's face and she toppled to the floor, asleep.

A hand passed over her face. What is up with people and putting their hands in my face.


She fell on the ground and dreamed about a dog.

Akira fell backwards and went back to sleep. His dreams consisted of sleeping and drinking, while watching the three students run around destroying everything. He was just happy that they were lea-

"Akira..."

"Kokami please let me sleep."

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier. I--"

"Shhh."

"But, A--"

"Shhhhhhh."

"I--"

"ShhHHHHHHHH."

ShhHHHHHHH.

Natsuki's lashes batted, her eyes opening slightly at the intensifying noise and willing away the blackness of dreamless sleep. She was still lying in the same uncomfortable position and she stifled a groan as she pulled her arms out from under her stomach, her elbows and wrists aching. She glanced in the direction of the SH and saw Kokami and Akira. She instantly pretended she was still asleep. She didn't want to deal with it right now.

It'd be much easier to fall back to sleep in this position. Hopefully.

She kept her ears peeled to make sure she wasn't discovered.

Atsumi kept dreaming. The dog was gone now but she did eat an assortment of meats. She ate until there was a noticeable bulge in her stomach. She then drank and spoke to the other people around her. Not a bad dream. Not bad at all.

"Aki, please." Kokami continued, and Akira opened his eyes. Kokami looked like a mess, and Akira waved her away.

"Go hunt. Think. Clear your mind." he says, and she opens her mouth to speak, but closes it again. Then she was gone.

"Go back to sleep, little one." he says to Natsuki, his hand raising to show the eye tattoo. It wouldn't have any effect from that range, but it would be a threat at least.